


Over the Moon

by Pembrooke330



Category: Archie Comics, Archie Comics & Related Fandoms, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Enemies to Friends, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Jeronica, Jughead x Veronica, Riverdale, Veronica Lodge - Freeform, Vughead, jughead - Freeform, jughead jones - Freeform, veronica - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-18
Updated: 2018-10-20
Packaged: 2019-07-15 18:37:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 33,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16068941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pembrooke330/pseuds/Pembrooke330
Summary: “So I have an idea.”Veronica looked up to see if she was the person Jughead was directing his comment towards.She looked around her to see that no one else was nearby. Yep, it must be her.“You talking to me?” She asked as she pointed to herself.Jughead rolled his eyes.“Um, yeah, seeing as how there’s no one else sitting in this particular corner of the library. And yes, I know it’s unheard of for me to willingly speak to you, but just hear me out...”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> An original Jeronica fic with some twists and turns...

Jughead tapped his pencil on his desk, anxiously obsessing over just what it was he wanted to say about the genius of Franz Kafka. Should he dissect the realism of Kafka’s work, or should he delve into the fantastical side of it? Should he put a focus on _The Metamorphosis_ or maybe _The Man Who Disappeared_? He just wasn’t sure, and it would drive him crazy until he finally decided.

“Oh my _God_. Could you stop that incessant _noise_? I’m trying to write my paper.”

Jughead turned to glare at Veronica. Not only because she had told him to stop annoying her, as he often seemed to do when he was around her, but also because she was sitting at her desk, all nice and calm, writing away with not the least bit of worry.

She twirled a piece of her dark hair as her pencil scratched over her paper in swift movements, the words seemingly to flow from her mind, down her arm, and to her hand with little effort.

And he loathed her for it.

“Who are you writing yours on?” He found himself asking, unable to quell his curiosity.

Veronica didn’t even look up as she responded.

“Austen, of course. She’s _the_ best.”

Jughead scoffed.

“Why am I _not_ surprised? For being such a ballbuster most of the time, you’re such a _girl_.”

Veronica finally flicked up her eyes to meet his and the scowl she gave him was exactly what he’d been waiting for. For whatever reason, he lived to irritate his intellectual rival.

“I’m aware of how very _clearly_ inexperienced you are when it comes to women, but I’m glad you can at least recognize when you actually _see_ one.” She shot back with a smirk.

Jughead opened his mouth, ready to retort, but before he could utter his witty comeback about just _how_ experienced he really was in the ways of a woman, the bell rang.

As the students spilled out into the hallway, Jughead reached his hand out and quickly pulled a piece of Veronica’s hair.

“ _Pride and Prejudice_ is overrated.” He said quickly before darting away down the hallway.

“Fuck you, Jones!” He heard Veronica call out after him.

As far as he was concerned, he had gotten the last word.

\---

“Holy shit, did Jones just pull your hair and run away? Is he twelve?”

Veronica looked up to see her best friend, Sweetpea, falling in step next to her as they made their way towards the cafeteria.

“Apparently.” Veronica replied as she rolled her eyes.

“I don’t think he’ll ever grow up. He’ll still be wearing that beanie when he’s 90.” Sweetpea replied, eliciting a chuckle from Veronica.

“Do men ever really grow up though?” She asked as they entered the busy cafeteria and headed towards the lunch line.

Sweetpea shrugged.

“Some do. I grew up like ten years ago.” He said with a grin on his handsome face.

To most people, the Serpent known as Sweetpea, was a just a tall, dark, intimidating gang member who wielded a switchblade instead of scrolling through a smartphone. A large portion of the student body of Riverdale High were afraid of him. But not Veronica. The two had surprisingly formed an unexpected friendship, having lived similar lives albeit on different sides of the tracks.

“Well, you had no choice. You are an exception, Pea.”

Veronica didn’t miss the slight blush in his cheeks at her words. She knew Sweetpea saw her as more than just a friend, but he’d never told her. Instead, his actions spoke for him in the tender way he would push an errant piece of hair back from her face, or the way he would put the extra motorcycle helmet on her before she got on the back of his bike, his hands always lingering on the chin strap. Even how he would tickle her and hug her snugly to his chest randomly in the school halls. There was definitely something there.

And then there had been Jughead’s constant teasing about the subject.

“He is _so_ in love with you. I wonder what caused him to have such incredibly low standards?” Jughead had said to her just a few days earlier when they’d both been working at Pop’s, their after school job.

She’d elbowed him in the stomach for the insult, giving a satisfied smile when he was doubled over from the strike.

“Low standards? Tell me, Jug, when was the last time a girl was interested in you? Oh that’s right, it was never. Someone would have to have _zero_ standards to date _you_.”

Jughead had rolled his eyes at her counter insult.

“You _know_ Betty Cooper and I dated. And I know you know because I remember the way you threw a hissy fit over me and her winning Homecoming King and Queen instead of you and Reggie “Dickwad” Mantle.”

“Reggie might be a dickwad sometimes, but at least he has excellent taste in women.” Veronica said as she flipped her hair and went back to counting the dollar bills in the register.

Jughead chuckled.

“You’re as green with envy as that money you’re counting.”

But Veronica had ignored him. Or tried to at least. Jughead Jones seemed to be the only person who could rattle her. And maybe it was because he had an uncanny ability to see right through her. It unnerved her to no end. And she loathed him for it.

“Speaking of men who can’t grow up, don’t look behind you.” Sweetpea said with a frown as he and Veronica sat at their usual table in the cafeteria.

“I won’t. It’s Archie, isn’t it?”

Sweetpea nodded as anger clouded his dark features. He basically hated Archie for how he had dumped Veronica over the summer via text while he had been away at football camp.

Archie had met some cheerleader from Greendale High while she was at cheer camp at the same college campus as the football camp.

_“I didn’t mean for this to happen, but it just happened. I’m sorry, Ronnie.”_

He had said in his text message.

Veronica had gotten over it for the most part, but what had hurt so much about it was how Archie had chosen to break up with her. She had thought she’d meant more to him than that, and to be proven wrong had been an enormous blow to her ego, and had made her feel like a complete fool.

She had moved on with Reggie Mantle for a while, thinking maybe there was more to the popular jock than just sports and partying. But Veronica quickly realized that wasn’t quite the case. With Reggie, it was basically what you saw was what you got.

So she had decided to just be single for her senior year of high school, since somehow love just didn’t seem to go her way with any of the boys in her town. Maybe she would meet someone in college. Someone who didn’t know her past. Someone who didn’t make her feel like she nothing but some random arm candy.

“Ugh, whatever. I can’t avoid him _all_ the time, I suppose.” She said with a shrug, but still not turning around.

She didn’t want to risk making eye contact with her ex. He’d already tried a couple of times to get back together with her and she had rejected him each time.

Sadly, she just didn’t trust him anymore.

“You’re not considering dating him again, are you?” Sweetpea asked, a panicked look crossing his face.

Veronica chuckled.

“Absolutely not! Especially not when I have a gorgeous Serpent to hang out with. You’ve been an awesome friend, P. Thank you.”

Sweetpea gave her that smile that made all the girls at Riverdale High a little weak in the knees. Being on the receiving end of that smile was quite something.

Veronica had entertained the idea of seeing if something could happen between her and Sweetpea, but she hadn’t wanted to be the one to pursue him. She wanted to be the one pursued, and the fact that Sweetpea hadn’t made a move made her wonder if there was something wrong with her. Maybe he didn’t want to ruin their friendship. That’s what she told herself. But deep down, she wondered if she was somehow broken, somehow unlovable. It was a painful feeling, one that she often pushed down deeper whenever it crept up.

“You know I always have your back, Lodge. Always.”

Veronica felt that warm feeling she always got when she knew that she at least had one person who cared.

She had lost so much lately. First, her father had run off after all the backlash from what he had attempted to do in Riverdale by selling off pieces of the Southside, to which Veronica did whatever she could to help the Serpents.

It drove a wedge between her and her parents, but it had forged a new friendship between Veronica, Toni, Sweetpea and Fangs.

Jughead, not as much. He still kept his distance, was seeming still so offended. Veronica hadn’t tried to convince Jughead that she was worthy of his friendship. She didn’t feel she had to. If Jughead Jones wanted to be her friend, he would be. She wasn’t going to force it.

She had also lost Archie, and then the student council election, Homecoming queen, and even some of her friends. Friends like Betty Cooper and Josie McCoy, who had decided Veronica was just as guilty for what her father had done as he was. It was unfair, but Veronica tried to look at it as weeding out the ones who weren’t loyal to her no matter what. If they didn’t want to be her friend because of her father, then she didn’t need them as friends.

It didn’t even seem to matter that she didn’t even know where her father was. He had hightailed it out of Riverdale right before the summer. Veronica and her mother hadn’t heard one word from him in six months.

They were worried about him, but at the same time, not having to deal with Hiram and his schemes and lies had been somewhat of a relief to the two Lodge women. The only thing they had to worry and wonder about was when he would return. If he returned at all.

 

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

Jughead filled up the salt shakers carefully, his goal being to not let one grain of salt miss the opening of the salt bottle.

It was the only thing entertaining him on the cold evening working at his part-time job at Pop’s Chock-lit shop. Other than watching Veronica and Sweetpea talking quietly while drinking double chocolate milkshakes.

He was annoyed by it, especially since Veronica was supposed to be slicing up the freshly baked pies to put in the display case.

But he was also annoyed by the fact that his best friend from the Southside of town had somehow become best friends with Veronica Lodge.

“Hey, don’t you have pies to cut?” Jughead snapped from the counter as he eyed the pair.

As much as he didn’t want to admit it, they looked good together and he wondered what exactly was going on between the two of them. Not that he would dare ask either of them. He didn’t want Veronica, nor Sweetpea, to think he cared enough.

Veronica rolled her eyes as she looked up at her co-worker.

“Don’t you have holes to crawl into?”

Sweetpea burst into laughter, which caused Jughead to jerk his hand, spilling salt all over the counter.

“Damn it, Pea! Can’t you go find something better to do than hang out with a lying Lodge?”

Jughead immediately regretted what he had said and how he had said it, especially when he saw the look of pain on Veronica’s face.

He knew that she had been having a tough time lately, that everything in her life had taken a drastic 180 degrees since the spring. And he hadn’t made it much easier on her, and he couldn’t quite pin down why.

He watched as Veronica gave a weak smile to Sweetpea before getting up to go back to her duties. And then suddenly Sweetpea was glaring at him.

Jughead shrugged, but Sweetpea only shook his head as he got up from his seat.

“For _that_ , you’re paying for our burgers.”

Jughead sighed before he turned to where Veronica stood quietly, slicing each pie carefully.

He understood all too well what it felt like to have people make you feel bad about who your parents were. Just like her dad had been in prison, so had his own. And just like her father had run off, so had his mother. He knew what it felt like to be made fun of, to be ignored, to be treated like you were a problem instead of a person. He didn’t want to perpetuate the cycle, and he felt awful for doing to Veronica what so many people had often done to him.

But before he was able to apologize, Veronica turned to him.

“Could you please stop staring at me with that disgusted look on your face? You’re creeping me out.”

Jughead breathed a sigh of relief. He wouldn’t have to apologize. Even though he knew deep down that he still should, whether she was throwing an insult at him or not.

“Only because you’re creeping _me_ out.” He retorted.

“Whatever. You creep _yourself_ out.”

He was aware of how immature they were being, but it seemed to be the only way they were comfortable with each other. Throwing insults and glowering at each other was their thing, and Jughead found himself actually enjoying the banter. It was unlike anything he had with anyone else, and he often wondered if Veronica thought it was as funny as he did.

“Why is it so dead around here tonight?” She sighed as she licked some of the whipped cream from a French silk pie off of her finger.

Jughead quickly looked away.

“Um…I think there’s a basketball game tonight or something? Everyone in town went. I guess it’s a state final. I don’t know…I don’t keep up with school sports that much.”

Veronica chuckled.

“I _used_ to. But not so much anymore.”

Jughead nodded.

“Do you miss being a Rivervixen?” He asked, knowing Veronica had been forced to quit the squad in order to help her mom with the bills now that Hiram was nowhere to be found.

Veronica shrugged.

“Surprisingly, not that much. It’s really not my thing.”

Jughead smirked.

“What?” Veronica asked as she gave him a vexing look.

Jughead shook his head.

“Nothing…I was just going to suggest that maybe you should try writing for the Blue & Gold. If you feel as though something like that is more ‘your thing’.”

Veronica looked puzzled.

“Sometimes I can’t tell when you’re fucking with me or being for real.” She replied as she glanced up at the clock and untied her apron. Her shift was up, and she looked more than ready to get away from work as soon as possible.

Jughead shrugged.

“Take it however you want. It’s…whatever.”

He wasn’t sure how to tell her that he really did mean what he said. He knew Veronica was a great writer. He’d heard her read short stories and poems in their English class. He even had to peer review one of her research papers. She was good, and if Betty could get past her disdain for her ex-best friend, then Veronica would be a great addition to the writing staff of the school paper. And then maybe people would care about reading it again.

Veronica didn’t look up as she grabbed her purse just as a car pulled up to the diner.

“See ya.” She said flippantly as she went out through the door and hurried to the waiting vehicle.

Jughead looked closely to see Veronica’s mother, Hermione Lodge, in the driver’s seat. She was wearing a pair of scrubs and Jughead remembered hearing that she had gotten a job as a dental hygienist at Dr. Bopp’s office.

He thought back to what he’d said earlier about Veronica being a Lodge. The fact that he had somehow made the Lodge name a dirty word made him feel like a piece of human garbage. Here were two women who were working hard to survive after being left in a mess of shit, only to have people tread on them constantly, at every turn.

Jughead sighed as he returned to finishing up his work. Pop would be in soon and he would be able to leave too, with a bag of burgers and fries in hand to take home to his dad who had been working across town at a new construction site.

As much as he didn’t want to admit how much Veronica’s life paralleled his own, it was undeniable. And trying to villainize her was not something he wanted to take part in. Even if it meant he’d have to eat crow occasionally.

\---

“So I have an idea.”

Veronica looked up to see if she was the person Jughead was directing his comment towards.

She looked around her to see that no one else was nearby. Yep, it must be her.

“You talking to me?” She asked as she pointed to herself.

Jughead rolled his eyes.

“Um, yeah, seeing as how there’s no one else sitting in this particular corner of the library. And yes, I know it’s unheard of for me to _willingly_ speak to you, but just hear me out.”

Veronica sighed as she sat back in her chair.

“Make it quick. I have trig homework to finish before class.”

Jughead nodded as he took a seat across from her.

“So, we get a lot of mail at the Blue and Gold from people seeking our advice. But, the thing is, we don’t even have an advice column. I was thinking, maybe _you_ could be our advice columnist. You know, if you’re interested.”

Veronica looked at Jughead as if he had completely lost his mind. But when Jughead just sat waiting for his suggestion to soak in, she finally spoke.

“You’re serious, aren’t you?” She asked, still perplexed by his suggestion.

Jughead smiled, unable to hide his excitement at the idea.

“You think people are going to want to take advice from _me_ , of all people? A Lodge? People don’t trust me, Jughead. This will never work.”

But Jughead shook his head emphatically.

“And that’s why we make _you_ anonymous too. If people don’t know who they are getting this expert advice from, they’ll be more open to sending even _more_ advice. The Blue and Gold will get popular again, and you’ll get to use your brain for something useful. It’s a total win win situation, Veronica.”

Veronica said nothing at first, instead, she was regarding Jughead’s sincerity with this crazy idea he had concocted.

He seemed completely serious, and also excited. She had a hard time denying how appealing it sounded. And maybe, if she decided to do this, somewhere down the road she would earn people’s trust back when they found out who the person was behind the advice.

“I’ve heard you give advice countless times, Veronica. And, it’s always been good advice. I think you would be great at this. And you _know_ I never say nice things like that to you, so obviously I mean it.”

Veronica chuckled. He had a good point.

“What will you tell Betty? I can’t imagine she’d want me writing for her precious paper.”

Jughead shrugged.

“I’ll just tell her _I’m_ the columnist. She won’t question it too much, don’t worry.”

Veronica sighed. Jughead was making it terribly hard for her to reject the idea. Finally, she made a decision.

“Okay…I’ll do it. But on _one_ condition.”

Jughead smirked, obviously having expected for there to be a Veronica clause with his plan.

“Name it.” He replied.

Veronica smiled slyly.

“You let me hang out at the Whyt Wyrm with Sweetpea, Fangs, and Toni whenever I want. You’re the Serpent Prince after all, so you have the power to allow me access.”

Jughead sighed heavily. The Whyt Wrym was a sacred place for the Southside Serpents and they didn’t often take kindly to Northsiders frequenting the place. But because Veronica had helped the Serpents after her father had tried to destroy the whole south side part of town, she had now been one of the few Northsiders that were welcome. And it didn’t even seem to matter that her father had been the main person who had been the one to orchestrate the south side demise. The Serpents were on board with Veronica, so she knew that Jughead had no choice but to grant her one condition.

“Fine. But just know that I’m _very_ reluctantly agreeing to this.”

Veronica cocked her head, smirking.

“Oh, I am _well_ aware of that.” She replied.

She knew Jughead hated the idea of her being on his turf, but she didn’t care. She needed a place to get away from home and from work. Being able to go to the Wyrm to be with her closest friends would be the perfect place.

"So, I’ll bring you the batch of letters to work tomorrow night. But remember, _no_ _one_ knows about this but you and me. Don’t even tell Sweetpea.”

Veronica rolled her eyes.

“Fine. Deal.”

It would be hard to keep such a secret from Sweetpea, but she knew she had to do it if it meant she could somehow earn Jughead’s trust towards something new.

This could be fun, after all.

 

To be continued...


	3. Chapter 3

“You want to be an _advice_ columnist? Really?”

Jughead hadn’t been entirely excited about telling Betty that he wanted to work on a new advice column for the school paper, but he had to get it over with and get it approved by the editor-in-chief herself, before he could take the letters they had received ever since school had started and give them to Veronica to start working on.

Jughead held his breath as he nodded his head.

“Yeah…why not?” He replied with a long exhale.

Being an advice columnist was the last thing he wanted to be, but the only person who would know it was him would be Betty. And the only person that would know it would really be Veronica, would be Jughead.

“Since when did Jughead Jones decide he had an urgent need to give advice to the student population of Riverdale High? Are you sure you haven’t taken a spill off of your motorcycle without your helmet on?”

Jughead shook his head.

“No, I just…you know…I think it would be a great way for me to share my opinions about the pathetic lives of the student body. I mean, it would be a remarkable social experiment. Might even help me get an A in my Psych class.”

Betty chuckled.

“You’re just throwing out angles and hoping I’ll bite. Okay, Jug. If you want to write an advice column, we’ll make room for one. But please at least _try_ to be sensitive. These are people’s hearts and minds that you are dealing with.”

Jughead tapped his nose the way he always did to let Betty know he understood.

“I’ll do my best to not bring any liability issues to the Blue and Gold, Betts.” He reassured her as he gathered the stack of letters from one of the desk drawers in the newspaper office.

Even though he and Betty had broken up not long after Homecoming, they had still managed to stay friends. They weren’t as close as they had once been, but it seemed to suit them both fine.

Jughead knew he’d always care about the girl who had been his first everything, but he had also known when it was time to move on. And while Betty had moved on and begun dating Adam Chisholm, a new student at Riverdale, Jughead had stayed single.

For the most part he enjoyed being on his own, but there was always a nagging feeling beneath the surface. A feeling that he couldn’t seem to get rid of, like an itch he couldn’t scratch. He often shrugged it off, distracting himself with school work, his job, and the Serpents. But that feeling crept up at the worst times, and he wasn’t quite sure how to get rid of it.

Betty looked at him carefully, as if she knew something was off about him. He prayed she wouldn’t know that he was lying about being the one who was going to write the advice column. Betty knew him far too well.

“How’s the job at Pop’s going?” She finally asked as he leaned against her desk.

Jughead shrugged nonchalantly.

“It’s a job. The only good part is getting paid and getting free burgers.”

Betty smiled, but there was a tightness to it that he knew wasn’t completely genuine.

“And Veronica? How’s _she_ doing having to actually _work_ for once?”

Jughead hated the cutting tone in Betty’s voice. It was as if she was still just as angry as she had been over six months ago.

“She’s a natural, to be honest. I’ve never seen someone work so hard. It’s impressive.”

Betty scowled at his response, but she said nothing else. Instead, she went back to typing away on her laptop.

Jughead took that as his cue to leave.

But just as he was exiting out of the Blue and Gold office and into the hall, he bumped right smack into Veronica right outside the doorway.

“What the fuck!?” Jughead yelped as he grabbed onto Veronica’s arms to keep himself from falling flat on the ground.

“Damn it, Jones!” Veronica replied, obviously flustered by the run-in as she readjusted her sweater and picked one of her books up off of the floor.

Jughead quickly moved Veronica away from the Blue and Gold office door before Betty came out to see what was going on.

“You shouldn’t be standing out here. Betty might figure shit out!” He hissed as he took her wrist and led her down the hall and safely away from the office.

“I know, I know. I’m _sorry_. I didn’t think she’d be in there. I was just coming by to remind you about the letters.”

Jughead breathed a sigh of relief when he looked back and didn’t see Betty following them.

“Don’t be so paranoid, Jug. She didn’t see me. And why would it matter if she did? I heard you defending me to her in there. Is it so terrible if she were to think we were possibly friends?”

Jughead lowered his head. He didn’t want Veronica to think his panic had anything to do with being ashamed of being around her. That wasn’t necessarily the case.

“I just don’t want to blow our cover before we’ve barely begun. She already thinks it’s highly odd for me to want to write an _advice_ column.”

Veronica shrugged.

“It’s not that big of a deal, Jughead. If the column doesn’t end up being able to happen, then maybe it just isn’t meant to be.”

But Jughead shook his head.

“I _want_ this column to happen. I _need_ it to.”

Before Veronica could even ask why he was so adamant about it, she was being whisked away.

“Lunch time, gorgeous!” Sweetpea said as he grabbed Veronica by the hand and continued walking towards the school cafeteria with her in tow while she giggled at having been unexpectedly whisked away.

He turned back to give Jughead a satisfied smirk as Jughead scowled. Even though he wasn’t sure what was exactly was going on between the two of them, he _did_ know how head over heels Sweetpea was when it came to Veronica Lodge.

"Too scared to ask her out, Pea?” Jughead would tease him when they would be hanging out at the Whyt Wyrm.

Sweetpea had given him a bored look.

“Jones, you don’t just ‘ask out’ a girl like Veronica Lodge. You have to find a special way to let her know how you feel. Grand romantic gestures are the only thing that will get her attention. In the meantime, getting to know her and being her friend is just a part of the process.”

“Right, so you’re just _pretending_ to be her friend until you decide she’s into you enough to not be rejected? Are you really _that_ afraid of her?”

But Sweetpea just rolled his eyes as if Jughead didn’t understand anything at all when it came to love and relationships.

Jughead understood a lot more than his good friend, Sweepea, realized. And he would know it for sure someday soon.

\---

“So Jughead actually defended you to Betty? That’s…that’s great.” Sweetpea said with a nod, not making eye contact with Veronica as he stirred the lumpy mashed potatoes on his lunch tray.

Veronica smiled as she stuck a forkful of salad in her mouth. She knew it wasn’t enough for Sweetpea to not still harbor ill will towards his fellow Serpent, but it was _something_ at least.

“I was surprised too. But it was nice to hear Jughead actually say something nice about me for once. Even if he didn’t mean it.”

Sweetpea shook his head.

“I’m sure he meant it, Veronica. Jughead isn’t one to mince words. He’s known for always saying what he means. But why were you snooping around the Blue and Gold in the first place?”

Veronica felt her pulse quicken. She hated lying to Sweetpea, especially when it was something she was actually excited about. It had been far too long since she’d been excited about anything.

“I…I was just trying to find Jughead to see if…if he wanted to work for me on Saturday. I wanted to spend the day with mom.”

Sweetpea looked at her curiously but didn’t say anything else. Whether he believed her or not, she didn’t know, but she felt guilty regardless.

“How are things going with _your_ mom and dad?” Veronica asked tentatively, knowing that the subject was a sensitive one for her friend.

Sweetpea shrugged.

“They’re talking, but dad hasn’t moved back in yet. If he’s even going to. I’m not sure. It is what it is.”

Veronica sighed. She knew a lot about parents not getting along.

Up until her father had left, Hiram and Hermione Lodge hadn’t been getting along so well either. Veronica’s mother hadn’t agreed with much of what her father had been up to with his land purchases and closings of historic Riverdale places on the south side of town, and it had led to some intense arguments. If it hadn’t been for her father hadn’t taking off, she was sure her mother would have looked into getting a divorce from Hiram.

The thought was painful enough, and Veronica couldn’t imagine how it might feel if it were to really happen, no matter how angry she was with her father.

“How about we forget about life for a little while this Friday night and have a movie night at the Pembrooke? I can order us a pizza. I’ll even watch _Die Hard_ with you.” She suggested, in an effort to cheer him up.

Sweetpea chuckled.

“That actually sounds really nice, V. Yeah…sure.”

Veronica gave a satisfied grin. She would do her best to make Sweetpea feel better while also finding a way to tell him why she would now be allowed to be at the Whyt Wyrm after having not been allowed to step foot in the Serpent hangout before. She only prayed he didn’t ask too many questions.

\---

_Dear B &G, _

_There’s this boy I like a lot, but he’s a jock and I’m really shy. I’m not sure if I should ask him out or not. I am terrified that he will think I’m stupid for even imagining that he might say yes._

_Please help!_

_-Nervous Girl_

Jughead watched as a smile formed on Veronica’s face. It was the fourth letter she had read out loud and he could tell the wheels were already turning in her mind as to how she was going to respond.

“Who hasn’t been down _this_ road before? I like this one. It’s so relatable that it’s a great place to start the column.”

Jughead nodded.

“Great point. So, how will you respond?” He asked, curious as to what Veronica’s commentary would be in regards to Nervous Girl’s question.

Veronica cocked her head as her eyes cut to the ceiling of the diner, as if she was studying something particularly interesting. She grinned before responding.

“I would tell her to go for it. Because, best case scenario, he says yes and she has an amazing date with the guy she’s been crushing on. And, okay yeah, the worst case scenario is he turns her down, and she might be embarrassed for a few days but at least she won’t have to wonder anymore. She won’t have to be agonizing over the “should I or shouldn’t I” anymore. It’s really a win either way, if you think about it.”

Jughead wasn’t surprised that Veronica had come up with a great solution. He knew she’d be good at this, and she was proving to be. He nodded in agreement at her response.

_Dear Blue and Gold,_

_I have been in the closet for almost my whole life. I want to tell everyone that I’m gay, but I don’t know how. I’m afraid of what everyone will think and how it might ruin the good things in my life. I want to be accepted but I don’t know if I will be. I feel helpless._

_Thank you for listening_

_-Scared Not Straight_

Jughead noticed Veronica biting her bottom lip, staring at the letter as she held it in her hands.

“I don’t want to mess this one up.” She murmured.

Jughead was impressed. He had thought her first instinct would be to speculate about who the person was who had written the letter. Like some kind of gossip monster would take over. But that hadn’t been the case. The fact that she was more worried about how to respond in a way that would be sensitive, but helpful, made Jughead feel a relief and a gratefulness that he had asked her to do the advice column in the first place.

She stayed quiet for a while, thinking deeply.

Finally, she sighed.

“I think I would tell this person that they need to have some faith in their family and friends. To give them a chance to listen and soak it in. Being honest with who they are is more important. Not having to hide would give them a sense of freedom. And if some of the people in their life don’t accept it, then cling to the people that do. Find a group to get involved in with like-minded people, a support system. Then I can offer some support group information. What do you think, Jug?”

Jughead felt the smile spread across his face and his heart felt warm. This was a side of Veronica he’d never allowed himself to know. He’d never wanted to think that she actually had a soul. A good soul, at that. He’d always wanted to think that everything she did was self-serving, but he knew that was completely inaccurate when it came to her.

“It’s…it’s great, Veronica. _Really_ great.”

After Veronica had gone through all the letters, she opened up her laptop to write her responses. Jughead watched as she wore her glasses, typing away frantically while he wiped the counters and cleaned out the fry baskets.

Luckily it was a cold, snowy evening in Riverdale and there were only a few customers in the diner having a few bowls of soup and coffee before heading back into the cold, night air.

It gave Veronica plenty of time to work.

But when Archie Andrews walked in with a couple other football players, Veronica snapped her laptop shut and walked around the counter to stow it in the backroom of Pop’s.

“Will you wait on them?” She asked quietly as she gave Jughead a pleading look.

Jughead sighed. Veronica had never seemed like the type of person to be intimidated by anyone, to avoid anyone. But she wanted as little to do with Archie as possible.

“Of course. It’s the least I can do.” He replied.

Veronica squeezed his arm, a physical thank you that felt foreign to him. Having Veronica Lodge touch him on purpose, and in a tender way, was not something that happened often. In fact, he was pretty sure it had never happened at all before.

“But first you have to tell me why you don’t want to walk over there with your head held high and act unaffected by your ex-boyfriend coming into _your_ place of work. What would you tell one of your readers?”

Veronica put her hands on her hips, pursing her lips as she shook her head.

“Very clever, Jones.” She replied.

Jughead gave her a discerning grin, knowing he was right and she _knew_ he was right. What an accomplishment.

But what he had really wanted to tell her that she had no reason to shrink away around Archie. She hadn’t done anything wrong. She was beautiful and smart and kind, and what Archie had done had been boorish, iniquitous, and downright stupid.

He couldn’t tell her those things, though, because it would expose the fact that he wasn’t quite as irritated by her as he wanted her to think.

“Okay. I’m going over there.” She said as she took a deep breath before grabbing her pad and pen and heading over to where Archie sat, smiling and laughing, oblivious to the affect he still had on his ex.

Jughead wondered if Veronica still harbored feelings for the redheaded jock. And he wondered if Sweetpea knew if she did or not. And then he wondered why he was wondering those things in the first place and decided to get back to the task at hand of scrubbing the fry baskets until they gleamed.

 

To be continued...


	4. Chapter 4

“Don't take this wrong, because you still look gorgeous, but you also look _exhausted_.”

Veronica looked up to see Toni Topaz standing by her locker with a look of concern on her face for her friend.

Veronica shrugged as she gave her a half smile.

“I was….studying…all night. So yeah, I didn’t get a lot of sleep.”

Toni clicked her tongue as if she was ashamed of Veronica for not getting a proper amount of rest. But instead of being annoyed by it, Veronica was appreciative. With Hermione being so busy working so hard, it was nice to have friends looking out for her when her mother wasn't able to.

“Come on, I’ll buy you a coffee in the lounge.” Toni replied as she wrapped an arm around the sleepy Veronica.

Veronica and Toni began their walk to the student lounge when Fangs Fogerty fell in step next to them.

“Have you guys seen the latest issue of the Blue & Gold? There’s a new advice column and it’s a- _mazing_.” He said as he held up a copy of the latest edition of the school paper.

Veronica barely glanced at it, she was too nervous. But she was well aware of the new column, and all because she had worked on the responses to the letters all night at work and even after. She had managed to email the file to Jughead at 3am, just in time for him to run the first few editions before school began that morning.

“Ms. Terious? Who the hell is _that_?” Toni asked as she scanned the column.

Fangs chuckled.

“The name is terrible but it’s obviously some anonymous person that’s answering the letters. Betty says it’s not her, Kevin, or Jughead, so I’m guessing they hired some random genius to write the column. It’s pretty great, to be honest. For once, the Blue & Gold has something interesting to read.”

Toni nodded in agreement as she read while walking, so engrossed that she almost ran into Jughead as he rounded the corner in front of them.

“Congrats, Jones! The new column is really well done!” Fangs chirped when he saw his fellow Serpent.

“Why are you congratulating _me_?” Jughead asked with a panicked look on his face.

Veronica wanted to tell him to relax. The usual cool and collected Jughead Jones was acting far too jumpy.

“Because you _are_ assistant editor, right? You had to have had a hand in coming up with the idea of hiring Ms. Terious.”

Jughead breathed out a sigh of relief.

“Oh…yeah…right. It took some convincing, but Betty liked the idea. So…yeah…if you guys need any advice, you know who to write to.”

Toni laughed.

“Yeah, right. Only desperate fools would write into an _advice_ column.”

Veronica noticed Jughead’s face turn red at Toni’s comment.

She hoped Jughead didn’t take it too seriously, because Toni was really the  _exact_  type of person who would write to a column for advice, she just didn’t want to admit it. And Veronica knew Toni well enough to know that since the two girls had become good friends over the past few months. Veronica knew that Toni was guarded, only trusting a very small circle of people, and she was too proud to ever let on that she had deeper feelings that she kept hidden away. Veronica hoped that maybe the advice column could even be an outlet for Toni someday, if she ever needed it.

“Well…I...uh...gotta get to history. See you guys later.” Jughead replied, only briefly glancing at Veronica before walking hurriedly down the hallway.

“He’s so odd sometimes.” Fangs said with a shake of his head as he, Toni, and Veronica grabbed their coffees.

Just then, Sweetpea stalked into the student lounge like he had a purpose while holding a copy of the paper in his hand.

“Can I talk to you?” He asked as he looked right at Veronica, a sternness in his tone that was rarely ever directed at her.

“Well, good morning to you too, Sweetpea!” Toni chirped, her voice thick with sarcasm.

But Sweetpea ignored her as he crooked a finger at Veronica, signaling for her to follow him.

And once they were in the hall, and out of earshot of any of their fellow classmates, he turned to look at her.

“You wrote this, didn’t you?”

Veronica had hoped Sweetpea wouldn’t bother to read the school newspaper, because she knew that he knew her well enough to know that the advice would sound just like her. She gave him advice all the time, after all, and he actually paid attention to her advice most of the time.

“P, don’t be mad, okay?”

Sweetpea exhaled heavily as he shook his head, his frustration melting away into something else.

“I’m not mad, V. I just…I don’t understand why you didn’t think you could tell me about this. Don’t you trust me?”

Veronica could hardly stand the hurt look in his eyes.

“Of _course_ I trust you, but I’d made a deal with Jughead. Which, by the way, you can’t tell him you know it’s me or he'll revoke our deal. I swore I wouldn’t tell a soul.”

Sweetpea gave her a hard look.

“What kind of _deal_ did you make with him?”

Veronica didn’t like his accusing tone, like she’d made some sort of salacious arrangement with his best friend. Sometimes his protectiveness of her bordered on possessive.

“I told him I wanted to be able to go to the Wyrm whenever I wanted.” She replied defensively.

The look on Sweetpea’s face suddenly softened.

“Why the hell would you want to go to that shit hole?” He asked, a smile appearing as he looked into her eyes.

Veronica shrugged as she looked back at him.

“To hang out with you.”

Sweetpea put a hand on her cheek. She wondered if he was about to kiss her, and the thought terrified her on so many levels. She wanted him to, and yet she didn’t. There was something that she wasn't sure felt right about being with Sweetpea as more than friends. Even though she was attracted to him, cared so much about him, she didn’t know if he was the one for her or not. And she wasn’t sure she wanted to risk one of the most important friendships she had.

“You’re crazy.” He said softly as his thumb stroked her bottom lip.

Her pulse was racing and she hoped she didn’t look as afraid as she felt.

“Hey! Lodge! Don’t forget to bring your laptop to work tonight. You know, for that English assignment!”

Veronica and Sweetpea were suddenly interrupted by Jughead yelling at her from down the hall, his head peeking out of his history class.

“Thanks for the interruption, asshole!” Sweetpea yelled back, clearly annoyed.

Jughead smirked just as the bell rang, and she realized that Jughead always seemed to pull a jerk move whenever he saw her and Sweetpea together.

“He hates that we’re friends.” Veronica said as she and Sweetpea began to walk down the hall to the science wing of the school.

Sweetpea grunted.

“He sure as hell does. And I can only guess why.”

 

\---

Jughead didn’t know why he had such a bad habit of biting his nails, but he couldn’t help it as he watched Veronica reading over the stack of letters that the Blue & Gold office had received by the end of the school day after the "Ms. Terious Advice Column" had been buzzed about all day long.

It was officially a hit, with mostly positive feedback from the student body of Riverdale High.

There were the few haters of the column, of course. Toni had obviously not been a fan of the concept, though she had read the whole thing. And there were a few “how lame” and “pathetic” comments being thrown around. But regardless of if people thought the column was a good idea or not, no one could deny that Veronica’s advice was spot on and brilliant.

“Damn...I’m not sure what to tell this person. Did you read this one, Jughead? The one from ‘Restless in Riverdale?” She asked quietly as she leaned over the counter from where she sat.

Jughead nodded. He knew exactly which letter Veronica was referring to and he couldn’t help but snicker as he thought about it.

“Just tell Restless to take their cat to the Christmas dance. If it helps their anxiety, so be it. Maybe the cat will have a good time.”

Veronica put a hand to her mouth, doing her best to stifle her laugh, but she couldn’t hold back the fit of giggles that erupted, causing a few heads to turn their way.

“Is it wrong to laugh?” She asked once she had collected herself.

Jughead shook his head.

“Not at all. It lightens the mood between the more serious ones. I saw the letter from Lonely in Love.”

Veronica nodded somberly, aware of the letter in which someone had written to her to say that they hadn’t been able to let go of a former love who had moved away and was apparently hooked on drugs now. It was heartbreaking, and he had noticed the tears running down Veronica's cheeks as she’d sat quietly at her laptop to reply.

Jughead had wanted to hug her, to make her feel better about the hard part of this job, but hugging Veronica Lodge was something too strange to even fathom actually going through with.

_To Lonely In Love,_

_I can’t imagine how hard it must be to know that someone you loved so much, and still do, is no longer around. And it must be even more difficult to know that they are involved in something so terrible. Addiction is an awful disease, and it’s not only a nightmare for the addict but also for the people who love them. All I can tell you is to let this person know that you care for them, and you’d like to help. I have included some resources below that might help both you and your ex. In the meantime, take time for yourself. Surround yourself with positive, supportive people. Find your peace within by doing healthy things for yourself. Your former love might not be in the best place in_ their _life, but that doesn’t mean_ you _can’t be. Don’t feel guilty for living your life in a positive way. You deserve to._

_Sincerely,_

_Ms. Terious_

Jughead sighed as he read Veronica’s reply over her shoulder, doing his best to not be distracted by the scent of her hair. It smelled like cinnamon and vanilla, a combination that made him close his eyes and think of a million twinkling Christmas lights. 

“Is it okay?” She asked him as she turned her head, her cheek so close to his mouth that he backed up quickly.

“Um, yeah…it’s…it’s great.” He stammered.

It wasn’t great. It was wonderful.

Veronica had tapped into something inside herself that was so special that Jughead wondered if she had any idea of just how special it was. How special _she_ was.

“You alright, Jug?” She asked as he turned on the barstool to face him.

As she looked up at him, Jughead suddenly noticed the small flecks of green in her dark, brown eyes. How had he never noticed that before? Maybe he had, he just hadn’t wanted to admit it.

“I’m fine.” He said, almost too quickly as he backed away and began to wipe clean the tables he had already wiped clean once before. Whatever he had to do to in order to distract himself.

\---

Veronica sat with Sweetpea on the not-so-new three piece sectional she and her mom had bought at an estate sale a few months earlier.

They had sold all of their old, fancy furniture in order to make some extra money. The only nice things that they had left in their penthouse apartment were sentimental family heirlooms. Like the crystal goblets, sterling silver platters and serving spoons in the dining room.

Surprisingly, Veronica didn’t mind the used furniture. Most of it was pretty nice, had come from good homes. The hard part would be when the day came that Veronica and Hermione would have to move out of the Pembrooke and somewhere else. Maybe a cozy rental in that quaint, little neighborhood near her school. Or maybe an apartment above one of the shops downtown.

“You’re quiet tonight.” Sweetpea said softly as his hand clasped hers.

It was that sort of comforting affection that gave her mixed signals about what it was that he exactly wanted from her. But she was too tired to get into a conversation with him about it. If he wasn’t going to just come out and let his words match his actions, then she wasn’t going to make it easier for him by bringing it up first.

But she was constantly plagued with wondering why he didn’t just go for it. Sweetpea was never one to hold back. Everything she’d ever seen him do, he’d gone in headfirst, no questions, he’d think about it later. But with her, it was as if there was an invisible wall that he refused to bust through, or climb, or go at with a sledgehammer.

And then, out of nowhere, she saw Jughead’s face in her mind. Why the hell he had decided to make an appearance in her thoughts, she had no idea. She shook her head, as if trying to shake him from her brain. She had done a good job of convincing herself that Jughead hated her, even if he had been nicer to her over the past week. It was only because she was writing the advice column for him. That had to be it.

“I’m sorry. I’m just tired.” She said as she snuggled into Sweetpea's side.

She suddenly wanted the peaceful security that only Sweetpea’s arms could provide, even if she shouldn’t.

“Writing all that advice, huh?”

Veronica nodded.

“If Jughead is working you too hard, just let me know and I’ll bust him up a little for you.”

Veronica chuckled.

“He’s not. Honestly, this whole thing has been so draining because it’s been so challenging. I don’t think I’ve ever had to dig so deep before. It’s kind of…I don’t know…gratifying? I feel useful for the first time in a long time.”

Sweetpea sighed.

“And you have Jughead to thank for that.” He finished for her.

Veronica thought for a minute. It was true. If Jughead hadn’t suggested she write for the Blue & Gold, if he hadn’t had the idea for her to write the advice column, she wouldn’t be doing something that made her feel so satisfied after the shit storm her life had been through.

“You were useful to the Serpents. To me too. Don’t forget about that.” Sweetpea said, a jealous edge in his voice.

“I’ll never forget that, Sweetpea. Never. But I appreciate you reminding me, and for appreciating _me_ too."

She looked up at him to see Sweetpea giving her an amorous look, just like he had in the hallway, and fear filled her again. 

"By the way, I challenge you to a game of pool when I come by the Wyrm next week.” She said teasingly, trying to change the subject from Jughead Jones and his newfound importance in her life.

Sweetpea sighed, but smiled.

“You’re on, Princess.”

 

To be continued...

 


	5. Chapter 5

“So, Betty wants to do a weekly Blue & Gold newsletter with just the Ms. Terious column as well as casual reminders about events around Riverdale in addition to the monthly run of the Blue & Gold.”

Jughead braced himself for Veronica’s predictable, over dramatic reaction to the news.

“Are you _kidding_ me? _Weekly_? Do you think that’s even _possible_?” She asked, a look of panic covering her face.

But Jughead nodded reassuringly.

“She was really impressed. I mean, of course she thinks _I’m_ writing it. But she said, and I quote, ‘This column is one of the best things I’ve read in a long time. It’s brilliant.’”

Veronica slumped against the counter of Pop’s. It was a Monday evening and the diner was half full of just their regular Monday night customers. It was safe to say that they weren’t in any danger of being exposed as they discussed the popularity of the school newspaper advice column.

“What if I can’t live up to the hype, Jug? What if that one issue of Ms. Terious was the best I could give?”

It was strange for Jughead to hear Veronica speak this way about herself. She'd always seemed so sure of herself, in every capacity. He'd rarely ever seen a crack in her facade in all the time he had known her. He knew writing the column was a lot of pressure, and he knew she wanted to do a good job, but she had the protection of anonymity. If the column didn't work out, then no one would ever have to know it had been her behind it all. The only thing he could figure was that she needed to be good at this, not for everyone else, but for herself. She needed to feel like she had something good in her.

Jughead shook his head as he put his hands on her shoulders, knowing full well how unusual it was for him to touch her, but he wanted her to know how serious he was when he told her how important it was that she continue with the column.

“I’ve never known you to act so defeated, Veronica. You’ve already done an amazing job with the batch of letters you’ve been working on. And you _know_ I will help you in any way I can. Just…please don’t give up on this. I think you’ve found your calling, and I don’t want you to let your insecurities get the best of you. You’re better than that…and…I believe in you to the _fullest_.”

Veronica's deep, brown eyes had stayed locked on his as he spoke and he didn’t understand why it flustered him so much. Maybe because he’d never allowed himself to be this close to her, to talk to her so honestly. But he was desperate for her to keep going. She was like a breath of fresh air that Riverdale High School had greatly needed after the disaster that the last school year had been. He couldn’t allow her to give up.

Jughead wasn’t sure how many minutes had ticked by when Veronica looked down at one of his hands that was still clutching her shoulder, and he quickly corrected himself, stepping back and tugging at his beanie in that way he did when he was nervous.

Veronica eyed him carefully, as if she was trying to figure out a puzzle she was intent on solving.

“Why are you being so persistent about this, Jug? Does it have something to do with Betty? Are you trying to impress her? To get her back or something?”

Jughead couldn’t help but laugh at her assumption. It couldn't have been further from the truth.

“ _That’s_ what you think this is about?” He asked as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the counter behind him, mirroring how Veronica was standing across from him.

Veronica shrugged.

“I mean…I’m not sure what else to think. A few weeks ago you were acting like you could hardly stand to be in the same room as me and now you want me to continue to do this column for the newspaper that your ex is the editor-in-chief of like your life depends on it. How else would _you_ connect the dots?”

Jughead sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck, not quite sure how to explain to Veronica his motives when he wasn’t even sure what his motives were.

“Well, Veronica...have you ever thought that maybe I feel bad for having been such a massive jerk to you, and this might be my way of trying to make amends?”

Veronica scoffed as she took a few steps closer to him, her eyes piercing through him like daggers.

“Why the _hell_ would I think that? I mean, that would be a pretty vast assumption on my part when you’ve given me absolutely  _nothing_ to think that that’s the case. You have _never_ made me feel like I’m even a blip on your radar other than to give me shit whenever you feel the need to project your own insecurities onto me. So no, Jughead, I didn’t think that you were trying to ‘make amends.’”

She turned on her heel quickly, concealing her face from him, and Jughead knew it was in an effort to hide the fact that her eyes were beginning to gloss over with tears. He wanted to reach out to her, to take her in his arms and tell her he was sorry. That he should never have treated her so terribly after all she had already been through. That he should just tell her the truth about why he gotten the idea for her to write the column.

But he never got the chance, because just then, the bell chimed on the door and in walked Sweetpea.

“Perfect fucking timing. Your Prince Charming has arrived.” Jughead muttered, before walking to the back room.

The last person he wanted to deal with was Sweetpea giving him shit for making Veronica cry. Especially when he hadn’t even been trying to upset her in the first place.

But Veronica had been right. Why would she think that what he’d been up to was a way to make things up to her? He hadn’t said or done anything to show her that he cared. But the truth was, he _did_ care. He cared more than he ever thought he _could_ care about the girl who had always seemed so above him, so untouchable.

She was the dream that he could never dare himself to even dream of, because reality was a violent punch to the gut. Because Veronica _was_ above him, braver than him, kinder than him, and smarter than him. He had nothing to give her except something that would allow her to realize how amazing she really was, no matter what anyone said about her or her family.

Suddenly, he felt a presence in the back room where he’d been sitting folding and refolding a dishtowel, all in an attempt to avoid her and Sweetpea.

“I’m leaving now, Jughead. Sweetpea is going to drive me home.” Veronica said softly.

“Of _course_ he is.” Jughead spat, not meaning to sound as pissed off as he was, but it was too late.

Veronica sighed heavily, followed by silence. Jughead was waiting for her to say something, anything that would give him an excuse to tell her everything that was running through his mind at the moment. But instead, she only replied with a simple “good night”, and then she was gone.

\---

Veronica felt a surge of excitement when she heard the comments in the hallway as she made her way to her next class.

The whole school was talking about Ms. Terious. 

They wanted to know who it was. They were all making guesses and placing bets. But no one knew, and there was something so incredibly thrilling about it. And it didn't hurt that she kept hearing so much positive feedback.

"Whoever she is, I'm impressed. She's so smart!" Veronica had heard someone comment as she turned the corner.

"I'm officially crushing on Ms. Terious." She'd heard another fellow student say.

It was validating, and a huge confidence boost that she had needed. But she knew no one would be saying such nice things if they knew it was Veronica Lodge who was responsible for the column in the first place.

The thought immediately brought back that sinking feeling in her stomach. What would people say if they knew it was her? Would she ever be able to tell anyone? And if she did, would they ostracize her even more? At least there was one person that believed in her fully, and kept encouraging her. Too bad she was spitting mad at Jughead Jones for acting as though she was ridiculous for not knowing why he'd asked her to do the column. How was she supposed to know that he'd been using it as a way to apologize to her? And in her mind, she still wondered if that was actually the real reason or not. Jughead had been acting more strange than usual lately, after all. 

When Veronica arrived to her English class, she quickly took her seat. And she refused to look up when Jughead entered the room and sat down in his seat beside her.

Instead, she kept herself busy by working on the second rough draft of her literary hero essay. Her hair worked as a curtain, protecting her from the glares that Jughead was surely throwing in her direction.

She hadn’t wanted to fight with him, and she wasn’t sure why she had gotten so upset with him in the first place. The only thing she could figure was that something about being the writer of his advice column idea made her feel as though he might just be using her as a pawn in some kind of game he was trying to play.

She’d assumed it had something to do with Betty, seeing as how he completely lit up when he’d told Veronica how excited Betty was about the column.

But Veronica knew there was a big chance that she had misinterpreted his excitement. That maybe it had really just been relief. Or maybe, if she dared to let herself think it, Jughead was actually proud of her. And maybe, just maybe, he even liked her a little.

Whatever the reason, her initial pang of jealousy at thinking he was making some big play to win back the ponytailed blonde was unsettling to her. She didn’t want to think about it, and she tried relentlessly to forget it, to suppress it, to lock it away, to do whatever she had to prevent herself from admitting that Jughead’s attention on her was actually doing something to her. Because for once, he looked at her as if she really mattered. As if she held something within her that was exceptional. As if he had finally looked beyond what her last name was, who her father was, and what she had been a party to before she had wised up.

It was almost as if Jughead might be willing to be her friend. And maybe even more.

“Still pissed at me?”

Her heart jumped at the sound of Jughead’s quiet voice next to her. She hadn’t expected him to talk to her. And she guessed she took too long to respond because he spoke again.

“I’m sorry, Veronica. I shouldn’t have assumed you would know my reasons when I really hadn’t given you anything to come to that conclusion. It just goes to show how fucking thoughtless I can be sometimes.”

Veronica could hardly believe what she was hearing, and she turned her head quickly to look at him, if nothing else than to make sure he wasn’t giving her that teasing smirk that always told her that he was full of shit and only messing with her.

“Did you…you’re actually _apologizing_ to me?” She asked, genuinely surprised.

Jughead rolled his eyes, but he smiled faintly.

“Despite what you may think, I _am_ capable of admitting when I’m wrong.”

Veronica chuckled sarcastically.

“Right. You just want me to write your newsletter.” She said quietly so that no one would overhear them.

Jughead sighed.

“Only _you_ could take an apology and make it into a manipulation tactic. What’s it going to take for you to believe I’m being sincere?” He asked.

Veronica thought for a minute, and then got a satisfied smirk on her face.

“I want a personal invitation to the pool tourney at the Whyt Wyrm this weekend.”

She had planned to go anyway, and join in a few games too, but forcing Jughead to be the one to invite her was just enough humiliation for him to make her feel as though they were even.

Jughead sunk back in his seat as he covered his face with his hands.

“Ugh...would you like to come to the billiards tournament at the Whyt Wyrm on Friday night, Veronica?” His muffled voice asked followed by a long exhale.

Veronica grinned from ear to ear. Even though she wanted Jughead to _want_ her to be there, she still enjoyed making him squirm.

Someday he would want her around. At least, that's what she hoped.

\---

 

Friday morning, Jughead was leaning against the brick wall outside of the gymnasium as his fellow classmates walked by, not paying any attention to where they were walking to. And it wasn’t because of a cell phone burning a hole in their hand, it was because the Blue & Gold newsletter was fresh off the printer and already circulating the hallways with the latest replies from Ms. Terious, the resident Riverdale High expert advice giver.

“I need to write to her about my issues with Sam!” He heard one girl say to her friend as they walked down the hall completely engrossed with the latest from the incredibly popular column.

He couldn’t be more pleased with the reaction. Veronica was phenomenal at this.

“But who do you think it is? I would love to talk her ear off about where I should go to college next year.” Jughead heard another fellow student say as they passed by.

He smiled to himself, a gratified grin at knowing he had actually accomplished what he had set out to do. Now if only he could get up the courage to go through with the rest of his plan. His smiled faded as he felt the wave of anxiety roll through him, but his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by someone beside him, nudging his arm.

“Oh…hey, Sweetpea…didn’t see you there.”

Sweetpea gave Jughead a smirk as he joined Jughead in leaning against the wall.

“Morning, Jones. So what’s this I hear about you inviting Veronica to the tourney tonight?”

Jughead sighed. He knew Sweetpea would be suspicious. He didn’t know about Jughead’s deal with Veronica and the newsletter, but he got the impression that Sweetpea knew it was Veronica behind the Ms. Terious advice column. Those two were too tight to not have a sixth sense about each other.

“Well, she’s allowed to frequent the Whyt Wyrm at her own whim. And she likes to play pool, so…” Jughead replied with a shrug.

Sweetpea was quiet for a minute, and Jughead could practically smell the territorial vibes Sweetpea was giving off.

“So, it’s a date or something?” He asked through gritted teeth.

Jughead chuckled.

“You really think it would be _that_ easy, Pea? Didn’t you say so yourself that only a 'grand romantic gesture' would get her attention?”

But Sweetpea only shook his head.

“You didn’t answer my question, Jones.” He said as he stared straight ahead, glaring at the bank of lockers across from where they stood.

Jughead couldn't help himself, he suddenly wanted to get under Sweetpea's skin. He _wanted_ Sweetpea to think Veronica being invited to the tournament was more than what it was.

“So what if it is? Are you going to ask me what my intentions are? Are you going to threaten me with a shotgun and tell me I better have her home before 9?” Jughead scoffed before he pushed himself off of the wall and began to walk down the hall and away from Sweetpea’s interrogation.

But before he could get too far, Sweetpea was grabbing the collar of his jacket and pulling him backwards. Jughead whipped around to face him, not the least bit intimidated by the larger Serpent.

“What the _fuck_ , man?” Jughead seethed as classmates that had been walking by began to slow down out of curiosity.

“I thought you didn’t want anything to do with a Lodge.” Sweetpea practically growled as he stared down his friend.

Jughead smirked. There was something about pissing Sweetpea off when it came to Veronica that he was enjoying. Maybe it was payback at the way Sweetpea always flaunted his friendship with the enigmatic beauty. Maybe it was the fact that Sweetpea seemed so threatened by him. Maybe it meant something. Maybe Veronica had said something about him. Jughead felt his pulse race at the thought of Veronica telling Sweetpea she was interested in him. 

“You don’t _own_ her, you know. As much as you wish you did.” Jughead replied, venom in his words as he glared at Sweetpea.

Jughead could tell that Sweetpea wanted to punch him square in the nose. His face was red with rage, his hands were balled into tight fists, but Sweetpea knew he couldn’t touch his fellow Serpent. It was against Serpent law, after all.

And just as quickly as Sweetpea had gotten so heated, so angry, he was suddenly calm. He relaxed his hands and let out a long exhale. Jughead couldn’t help but be confused, and he was sure it showed on his face.

“Veronica is special, Jones. And she’s worth fighting for. I hope you can find a way to admit that to yourself.” Sweetpea said, a defeated look on his face.

He gave Jughead one last serious look before turning around and heading back down the hall. He could only wonder why Sweetpea had backed down so easily, and Jughead found himself feeling beyond ashamed for having goaded his friend into the tempestuous conversation.

Jughead sighed. He had never challenged a friend over a girl before. Not just any girl, of course, but Veronica Lodge of all girls. He felt a churning in his gut, not knowing why he had felt such an urge to go head to head with one of his best friends. But being in some ridiculously macho competition with Sweetpea over Veronica’s affections made Jughead finally admit to himself that he felt something for the sable-haired siren.

It was a feeling he had tried countless times to bury, to ignore, to justify. But when it really came down to it, there was something about that girl that he couldn’t shake, even though he’d tried for months and months to shake it.

And he couldn’t blame Sweetpea for feeling something too. She had inexplicably woven herself through the fibers of their hearts, just as she had done to others before them. And it was a prison that they couldn’t escape, even if they wanted to.

Jughead didn’t want to fight Sweetpea over a girl. But his friend had been right. Veronica Lodge was worth fighting for.

 

To be continued...


	6. Chapter 6

Veronica cautiously entered the smoky, dimly lit Serpent bar.

She’d been there before, but under less than friendly circumstances. And even though Sweetpea had told her that she’d be safe, and no one would give her any issues, she had still felt uneasy as she and Sweetpea had pulled into the parking lot after he’d picked her up from the Pembrooke.

“See, no one is bothered by you being here.” Sweetpea said as he led her back to where the pool tables sat ready for the tournament.

Veronica took a deep breath and tried to relax, but it wasn’t the Serpents as a whole that she was worried about not wanting her there. It was one Serpent in particular. The Serpent Prince, himself. And she began to regret having forced Jughead’s hand into asking her to come to the tournament when he had so clearly not wanted to.

She hated that she cared so much about what he thought. She longed for the days when Jughead would make a snide remark at her and she would just roll her eyes at him and ignore him.

But she couldn’t ignore him anymore.

“Why are you so acting so jumpy? Do you think you’re walking into a trap or something?” Toni asked as she stood with Veronica, Sweetpea, and Fangs near one of the tables.

Veronica looked over at Sweetpea, who was frowning. He’d been acting so strange lately, so much more protective than usual. He’d insisted on picking her up instead of letting her take an Uber to the bar. It had been nice of him, but there was something about the gesture that seemed more calculated than him just being sweet.

She shook her head.

“No…I…I’m just wondering what I’ll be up against. I’ve only ever played pool against _you_ guys before.” She replied quickly.

But she noticed that Sweetpea got even more tense when they saw Jughead walking towards them with a beer in one hand while running the other through his dark, beanie-less hair. His leather was jacket off, revealing a snug-fitting white tank which showed off a muscular form that she wasn’t sure she had ever noticed before.

The boy was looking hellishly good and it wasn’t helping _anything_.

“Is _that_ how he looks when he’s being the Serpent Prince?” Veronica asked quietly, without even thinking about the words that were tumbling out of her mouth.

Sweetpea glared at her before walking off towards the bar, and the guilt washed over her like a wave. But she couldn’t help it. Jughead Jones had shown her a side of himself that he’d never let her see before. He had believed in her, given her a new purpose when she had felt so lost. As much as she cared for Sweetpea, as great of a friend he had been, he hadn’t offered her quite the same thing.

And the fact that she had finally admitted to herself how attracted to Jughead she was, it was like she had unlocked something that had always been there but hadn’t been allowed to be given proper release.

It had just been a matter of time.

“Hey.” Jughead said casually as he approached her.

“Looks like we play against each other first, according to the roster.” He said before taking a swig of his beer.

Veronica gave him a flirtatious smirk as she crossed her arms. She was looking forward to some competition with Jughead. Whether it would be friendly competition or not, she wasn't sure.

“Well, should be easy to kick your ass since you’re under the influence. Since when do you drink? And how are you even _allowed_ to when you’re only 18?” She asked, feeling a mixture of concern and intrigue.

This version of Jughead was one she had never met before. This Jughead was confident and proud and incredibly hot.

Jughead shrugged.

“I guess ever since I became a Serpent, and since the cops never come here, there’s no one to arrest me for underage drinking. And just so you know, being under the influence only contributes to my pool playing abilities so don’t get _too_ confident that you’ll beat me.” He said with a sexy grin.

Veronica’s heart skipped and she scolded herself internally for it.

“Well, then…maybe we should make a friendly wager.” She replied as she stepped closer to him.

His eyes widened, unsure of what she was about suggest. But then a smug smile formed on his face as he took a step towards her as well.

She looked up at him, realizing that she’d never noticed before how much taller he was than her, how blue his eyes were. She had never looked at him like this, as if she was seeing him through a clearer set of eyes.

“And what would _that_ be?” He asked, his voice low as he looked her over.

It was subtle, but he had definitely checked her out, and Veronica had never felt so exposed. How was he able to do to her what no one else had ever done before? Giving her such an intense rush, as if she was falling to the earth without anything to catch her.

Veronica smiled, and she could feel the blush in her cheeks.

“If I win, you have to reorganize my closet. If _you_ win, I will wash your motorcycle every week for a month.”

Jughead laughed as he tipped back his beer for another sip.

“Yeah, we can go with that for now. But if I win, I might change what you owe me.”

The smooth confidence in which he spoke made Veronica more than eager to lose against him, wondering just what he might be thinking other than having her slaving away washing his motorcycle.

And she was just about to ask him what he had in mind when they were suddenly interrupted.

“I got you a drink.” Sweetpea said cheerfully as he handed Veronica a glass of something with swirls of white and red.

“What is this?” She asked with a chuckle as she took the cold drink.

“A strawberry pina colada. Hog Eye makes the best ones in Riverdale.”

Veronica looked up when she heard Jughead laugh.

“What?” Sweetpea asked with a hard look at his friend.

Jughead shook his head.

“Veronica Lodge isn’t some lightweight, fruity drink girl. She likes _hard_ liquor. I know, I saw her at Cheryl’s Halloween party downing rum and Cokes all night.”

Veronica couldn’t help but laugh too. Even though her memory of the night was fuzzy after all those drinks, she still remembered most of it. Especially the way Jughead had looked at her in her cat costume. It was the first moment that she discovered how much she liked it when Jughead looked at her as if she was someone other than a criminal’s daughter who had tried to destroy his life.

And the fact that Jughead was even aware of what she had been drinking that night was like a little gift he hadn’t even meant to give her.

It told her that he had been paying a lot more attention to her than he wanted to let on.

“The main thing I remember about that party was how hungover I was the next day. Better play it safe with the pina colada. Thank you, Sweets.” Veronica said as she took the drink from Sweetpea and gave him a wink.

Jughead shook his head, his crooked smile revealing the fact that he knew the game she was playing. Trying to make him jealous by showering Sweetpea with her attention. Unfortunately, Sweetpea was aware of the game too and the familiar feeling of guilt suddenly crept up on her.

“I have my first round with Jinx. I’ll see you later.” Sweetpea said with a flippant wave before heading over to the corner pool table.

“Good luck.” She called after him, knowing she would have to somehow make it up to him later. She would have to think of something good to keep him from staying angry with her.

“Uh...hey Juggy…and…Veronica.”

Veronica and Jughead both turned to see Betty walking up to them with Cheryl in tow. Veronica’s heart immediately fell. She hadn’t talked to Betty in months. They had managed to avoid each other expertly at school, other than passing by in the hallways every so often. And Betty never even came into Pop’s during Veronica’s shifts.

The avoidance was obvious, and Veronica could only suspect that Betty wouldn’t even be at the Whyt Wyrm at that moment if she’d known Veronica would be there too.

Jughead immediately stepped back from Veronica, and it was as if the air around her had suddenly grown colder. His attention was now completely on his ex-girlfriend as he put down his beer bottle and gave her a quick hug.

“I thought Northsiders weren’t allowed in the Wyrm.” Betty said with a biting tone as she glanced at Veronica.

Jughead shrugged as he pulled away from Betty’s embrace.

“Veronica is a friend to the Serpents. Just like _you_ are, Betts. She’s allowed to be here just as much as you are. And...she's also an amazing pool player. You should watch our game together.”

Veronica’s heart thumped. Two. That was two times now that Jughead had defended her to Betty. She felt a warm tingle all over, and she wondered how many times he had defended her when she hadn’t been around to actually hear it.

Betty sighed as if she was bored.

“Whatever, Jug. I only came by to watch Cheryl and Toni play against each other. Then I’m leaving. But...let me know if you want to come with me.” She said as she gave Jughead a amorous smile.

Veronica couldn’t read the look he gave her, but from what she could gather, he was doing his best to not roll his eyes. Betty had a boyfriend after all, so it was obvious she was just trying to create drama for the sake of creating drama. Typical Betty Cooper.

“Please tell me how I was ever friends with her.” Veronica said as she watched Betty and Cheryl head over to the pool table where Cheryl would be playing against her girlfriend.

Jughead chuckled.

“Because mean girls stick together until one of them decides not to be a mean girl anymore.” He replied as he grabbed a pool stick and began to chalk it.

Veronica did the same just as FP Jones got up on the stage to announce the beginning of the tournament. A bell was rung and all over the bar the sound of pool sticks striking the cue ball could be heard.

“You thought I was a mean girl?” She asked him, feeling a sinking feeling in her stomach.

But Jughead smiled.

“Briefly...at one time...but not anymore.”

\---

Jughead was losing, but he was surprisingly okay with it.

He knew there was no way he would be able to collect on his bet with Veronica, especially when he had been planning to up the stakes with something a lot more scandalous than making her wash his motorcycle.

Too bad he didn’t have the guts to make good on that bet. Veronica Lodge made him way too nervous, and it didn’t help that she was a complete smoke show in her leather skirt and tight, white t-shirt. God, she made him crazy every time she looked at him. He couldn't get a handle on his heartbeat to save his life.

So he’d settle for having to clean out her closet. At least it was a way to be let into the Pembrooke, and into her bedroom, which was something he’d never imagined getting to do ever since he’d met the penthouse princess.

He’d finally know what it would feel like to be Sweetpea.

Jughead was beyond jealous of his best friend, to the point that he almost didn’t even like him. They hadn’t talked much since their confrontation in the hallway that morning, and the tension was still there. It didn’t help that Veronica was flirting with both him and Sweetpea, only adding to the hostility between the two friends.

“Eight ball, corner pocket.” Veronica said as she looked up at Jughead and gave him a wink.

And she kept her eyes right on him as she struck the cue ball and sent the 8 ball right into the pocket she’d called.

She stood up and grinned from ear to ear, relishing her victory.

“I guess I won.” She said as she placed her pool stick back onto the wall rack.

Jughead couldn’t even be the least bit upset. She had won, whether he had let her or not.

“Good game.” He said as he held out his hand to shake hers.

Veronica smirked as she placed her slender hand in his.

“My place. Tomorrow morning. 10AM sharp. My closet awaits you, Juggykins.”

Jughead watched as she sauntered over to the table where she’d be playing against the winner of Cheryl and Toni’s game against each other. It took several seconds for him to realize that his heart was raging out of control. In only a dozen hours, he’d be at Veronica’s apartment. He’d be alone with her. No classmates, no customers. No other Serpents. Just him and Veronica Lodge in her bedroom.

“So you lost the game, huh? Need a pick-me-up?”

Jughead swallowed hard at the sound of Betty’s voice in his ears.

“Sure.” He replied as he followed her over to the bar.

The two ex’s sat next to each other, a fresh beer in Jughead’s hand and a pina colada in Betty’s. He watched as Betty sipped it carefully. She wasn’t much of a drinker, so he wasn’t sure why she had decided to order one for herself.

He wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that Veronica had been sipping on the same drink earlier in the night. The last thing he wanted to deal with was some strange competition between the former best friends that mirrored his own competition with Sweetpea.

“So, the advice column has been a huge success. Even the newsletter is doing incredibly well.” Betty said as she leaned forward, her hand on Jughead’s knee as she spoke.

“I’m impressed, Jug. I had no idea you had that kind of writing within you. I mean, I knew you were a fantastic writer, but this advice you’ve been giving…well…let’s just say, it’s shown me a whole other side of you. A side that I find really…interesting.”

Jughead nodded.

“Interesting how?” He asked, not really sure what Betty was getting at but hoping that she wasn’t suspecting that the column hadn’t actually been written by him. He wasn't ready for his cover to be blown.

She gave him a knowing smile.

“Interesting because it’s a side that you’ve never shown me before. I know you've said before that you have layers, but I guess there are more layers to you than I realized. It makes me…miss you…Jughead.”

Jughead sighed. This was not a conversation he wanted to get into at the moment.

But then he looked up and saw Veronica talking so closely to Sweetpea that his heart tightened at the sight. And when the Northside princess stood up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to the roughneck Serpent’s, Jughead realized that all of the flirting Veronica had been doing with him all night had meant nothing. It had all been a ploy to make Sweetpea jealous, to finally make something happen between the two of them.

Jughead felt like a complete fool. And he didn’t want to stick around to watch the two of them continue their newfound romance.

“Hey, Betts. I gotta go. We can talk about the column later…but…I gotta go.”

Jughead didn’t even wait for Betty to respond before he had rushed out of the packed bar and out into the cold, December night with no direction in mind, just a need to escape the impossible dream.

\---

 

“How many of those drinks have you had?” Sweetpea asked once Veronica had pulled away.

She scowled at him.

“That’s all you have to say? I _kiss_ you and all you can do is assume I did it because I’m drunk?”

She shook her head, this was exactly why she had never allowed herself to kiss Sweetpea before. She had somehow instinctively known it wouldn’t go the way she knew it should have if he they were meant to be.

“I’m not assuming you are drunk, Veronica, but I _do_ know that you only kissed me to make Jughead jealous.”

Veronica’s eyes widened. She glanced over to where Jughead had been sitting at the bar talking very cozily to Betty, but they were both gone.

Her heart sank.

She really _had_ just been a pawn in his game to get his ex-girlfriend back. She hadn’t meant anything more to Jughead then that. She felt like the biggest idiot on the planet.

“Look, Veronica, I…I care about you…I care about you more than I can say, and kissing you…it felt _so_ good, and I've wanted you to do that for a really long time…but I’m not going to compete with my best friend for your heart. Especially when he’s the one who is going to win.”

Veronica’s mouth dropped open. That was the last thing she had expected Sweetpea to say.

“What? How? Why…why would you think that?” She asked, suddenly very anxious at how Sweetpea had come to that conclusion.

Being with Jughead hadn’t been something she’d even permitted herself to think about let alone actually go through with at some point.

But Sweetpea smiled, as if he knew a secret that Veronica hadn’t yet been let in on.

“Because I see the way you are with him. You get this gleam in your eyes whenever he gives you any kind of attention. I see how _badly_ you want him to like you, to respect you. And…I see your body language change whenever he’s around. He turns you on, Veronica.”

Veronica could feel her face getting warmer by the second and she took a long sip of her drink to try to cool herself down. She was mortified at how obvious she had apparently been. And she wondered if Jughead had been just as aware as Sweetpea was.

“Look, I get it.” Sweetpea continued.

“Jones has something. I don’t know...maybe it’s the smart, brooding loner thing that gets all you girls so wet for him. But with you, it’s more than that. You see so much more in him than you want to let on. And whatever it is, I can see how much you want to crack his code.”

Veronica sighed. Sweetpea was telling her things she hadn’t wanted to admit even to herself, but it was the truth.

“So now, the thing is, what are you going to do about it?” He finished as he raised his eyebrows at her, challenging her to make some kind of move towards progressing her strange, friction based, so-called friendship with Jughead into something more. A foundation to build up from.

“Pea…I…I don’t think I can do anything…because I’m pretty sure he just left with Betty Cooper a little while ago and I’m not about to get into it with her over a boy that I’m not even sure cares that I exist as anything more than a piece in his plan to get her back.”

Sweetpea shook his head.

“You’re a smart girl, V. But when it comes to this whole situation with Jughead Jones, you’re being a real blockhead.”

Veronica gasped as she playfully smacked his arm.

“Well excuse me for being just as confused about Beanie Boy as the next person. He’s not that easy to read you know.” She replied defensively.

Sweetpea chuckled.

“Well then, Ms. Terious, maybe for once you should read between the lines.”

 

To be continued...


	7. Chapter 7

“She’s worth fighting for.”

The words Sweetpea had said echoed in Jughead’s mind over and over as he stood at the door of the Lodge women''s apartment.

He had originally planned on not even showing up to honor his bet with Veronica after witnessing the kiss between Sweetpea and the girl who had managed to make him fall so hard.

But he couldn’t let himself give up yet. Not when all he could think about was how it must have felt to be Sweetpea. To have Veronica’s lips on his.

His heart was in his throat as the door swung open and he was suddenly standing face to face with Veronica, looking incredible as always in a black, spaghetti strap mini dress, her hair pulled up in a loose bun.

It was a look he didn’t often see her wear, and she took his breath away.

“You actually came.” She said with a look of surprise, and relief, on her lovely face.

"A bet's a bet." He replied.

They stared at each other, as if neither one of them knew what to say to the other. But then Veronica stepped to the side to let Jughead in and he followed her down the hall to her bedroom.

He’d been to her apartment before but not in a long time, and the last time had been in much simpler days when Veronica was happily dating Archie and Jughead was in love with Betty.

How tables had turned. It was almost comical.

“Welcome to my room, Jones. Closet’s over there.” Veronica said as she pointed to an open door on the opposite side of a huge, picture window with morning sunlight flooding through it.

Her room was bright and airy and smelled just like her. And Jughead felt his whole body get warm as Veronica climbed onto her queen sized, four poster bed. Veronica being on a bed was the last thing he needed to be solely focused on at that moment.

So he concentrated on the fact that she had pulled out the bag that she kept all of the Ms. Terious letters in. Her laptop was open and she had a cup of hot coffee on her bedside table.

“Working so early?” He asked as he walked over to the side of her bed and picked up the letter laying on the top of the stack.

Veronica shrugged.

“I have a lot of letters and not a lot of time.” She replied as she put on her glasses and picked up one of the letters.

“I take it you have plans with Sweetpea later?” Jughead asked, hating himself for sounding so curious.

Veronica peered over the rim of her glasses at him.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but no. I know I’m a social outcast and all, but I _do_ have other friends.”

Jughead didn’t miss the bite in her tone and he wondered why she seemed so pissed off at him all of a sudden. If anyone had any right to be upset, it was himself.

“Well, pardon me, Princess Lodge. I just assumed, you know, after I saw you two kissing last night that you two were officially a thing now. My condolences, by the way.”

Veronica glared at him.

“How do you know I kissed him? You were gone…with Betty.”

She said her ex best friend’s name as if it left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Jughead let out a sarcastic laugh.

“Well, I’m sorry that I didn’t want to be seen throwing up in public after witnessing that real life nightmare. Besides, I didn’t leave with Betty. She must have left after I bailed.”

Veronica continued to glare at him, annoyed from his comment and looking as if she didn’t believe a word he was saying. But finally, she spoke.

“Do you want some coffee?” She finally asked with an irritated sigh.

Jughead smirked.

“I’d love a cup.”

\---

 

Veronica watched with a grin on her face, and doing her best to not laugh as Jughead tried to re-buckle one of her strappy, black heels that she had worn to last year’s Sadie Hawkins dance.

Seeing the rough and tumble Serpent handling a dainty pair of women’s shoes was one of the funniest things she had seen in a long time.

“I give up. Your shoe is broken. It’s going in the throw away pile.” Jughead lamented as he tossed the shoe over to Veronica as she sat on the closet floor with him.

Veronica chuckled.

“It’s not broken. They go in the keep pile.”

Jughead shook his head.

“Veronica, we’ve been going through your closet for two hours now and you’ve barely gotten rid of anything. You said you needed to, and I quote, ‘unclutter the unnecessary things in life.’”

Veronica twirled a piece of her hair anxiously. She had said that, but now she wasn’t sure she’d meant it. Most of what she owned were the only things she hadn’t been forced to get rid of in order to pay bills. Her things were a way to hold on a little longer to her past.

“Well, yeah…but maybe not when it comes to the items in my walk-in.”

Jughead gave her that crooked grin that made her stomach do flips. She wondered how he was able to be so charming when he wasn’t even trying to be.

“I get it. You’re feeling sentimental. If anyone knows about sentimentality it’s me.” He said as he pointed to his beanie.

Veronica couldn’t help but laugh.

“Yeah, but that’s _one_ item versus my hundreds.”

But Jughead only shrugged.

“It does matter. These things are still special to you, no matter how many there are.”

They were quiet for a minute, still finding it awkward when they weren’t engaged in their usual mocking banter.

“How about we take a break and you help me with some of the letters. You’re actually pretty decent at advice too, you know.” She said teasingly as she began to stand up.

But Jughead beat her to it, quickly rising up from the floor and offering his hand to her. Which she took, and he couldn’t help but notice how revealing her dress was when he was looking down at her. He looked away quickly, but he was sure she had noticed him staring.

He couldn’t help it, though. He was caught up in her spell.

\---

 

Veronica couldn’t get over how weird it was to have Jughead Jones sitting across from her on her bed. The thoughts running through her mind were making her lose her concentration on the task at hand.

Luckily, Jughead didn't seem to notice her distraction since he was deep in thought while staring at one of the letters she’d received for the advice column. She had read most of them and had already written up several answers, but there were still a few left to go over.

“I don’t know. I think this 'Restless in Riverdale' needs to maybe take a semester abroad. It can be pricey but there all kinds of people in the community who would sponsor a student who wants to study out of the country.”

Veronica nodded. Jughead had made an excellent point after she’d shown him the letter she had been struggling with. And it was kind of amazing that they always seemed to be on the same page when it came to their thoughts on other people's problems. Too bad she couldn't come to him about her _own_ problem.

“Do foreign exchange student programs still exist?” She asked him as she began to type up her response to Restless in Riverdale.

Jughead opened up his own laptop and began to type.

“I’m not sure, but I can Google it.”

She liked this. This whole working side by side with him on the advice column. It was their own thing that they had together, and it gave her a warm feeling and a nervous excitement that she hadn’t felt in a long time. The only problem was dealing with how she felt about him and wondering if he could ever possibly feel anything for her too.

“I would love to study in Italy.” She said with a sigh, remembering when she’d visited Rome with her mother and father during middle school.

Jughead smiled.

“I could totally see you zipping through the streets of Florence on your Vespa, honking at Italians to get out of your way or you’ll flatten them.” He replied with a chuckle.

Veronica cocked her head.

“How did you know that I wanted to go to Florence?” She asked, curious as to how he knew such a detail about herself. It wasn’t something she had talked about much.

Jughead shrugged.

“You mentioned it that one time in Geography class last year. That your dream home would be in Florence, Italy.”

Veronica felt the breath leave her lungs.

“I can’t believe you remember that.” She said as she stared at him in disbelief.

Jughead quickly looked back down at his laptop.

“I…I only remember because my mom always talked about how she went there once the summer after she graduated from high school. She said it was beautiful and amazing.”

Veronica nodded, smiling shyly.

“Do you miss your mom?” She asked quietly, hoping she wasn’t overstepping whatever strange boundaries she and Jughead had with each other.

Jughead’s eyes met hers, but the usual sternness on his face when it came to talking about anything even remotely personal wasn’t there. It was almost as if he was relieved that she’d asked. That talking to someone about it who might understand, meant something to him.

“Yeah…I do. I mean…I get mad about how she left and how she doesn’t seem interested in coming back. And sometimes it's the fuel that I need to stay anger at her. But…then there are those times that I can’t sustain my anger anymore. Where it fades for a minute. And that’s when I just get…sad.”

He sighed as he readjusted his beanie, his eyes still on hers. She knew how unusual it was for Jughead to be this vulnerable, especially to her. And she didn’t take it lightly.

“I guess I can understand how you feel…you know…because of my dad.” She began as she looked down at her hands.

She still felt so much shame. She still hated what her father had done to Jughead and his world.

“But…I know I shouldn’t miss him. He wasn’t a good person. And…I’ll always be sorry for what he did to you and the Southside. I’ll never forgive him for that.” She said with a regretful sigh.

The, unexpectedly, Jughead’s hand took hers and he held it tightly.

“Hey, it’s okay, Veronica. It’s okay to miss your dad. He was your _dad_ , and you love him. Just because people we love do bad shit sometimes doesn’t mean they don’t still matter to us. And I don’t blame you for what he did. I know I’ve taken it out on you, and I realize how unfair I’ve been to you. If anyone should be sorry, it’s me.”

The two sat in silence, their hands stills intertwined, neither one knowing what to say next/ The tension was there, but neither one dared to make any kind of move that might change the course of their relationship. But Veronica couldn’t take her eyes off of his mouth, causing her body to feel things that had been lying dormant for months. She wondered what he would do if she moved closer.

“I…uh…guess we should get back to these letters.” Veronica finally said as she picked up the next one in the stack, completely chickening out.

But she couldn’t stand the thought of rejection, and she couldn’t stand the thought of how hurt Sweetpea would be if she made a move on his best friend.

Jughead nodded as he pulled his hand away, and she felt that same cold feeling that she had felt the night before at the Whyt Wyrm. Something about having Jughead close to her made her feel a connection she had never felt with anyone before, not even Sweetpea. It was confusing and scary and electrifying all at once.

Veronica smiled as she opened the next letter and began to read it.

_Ms. Terious,_

_There’s this girl that I can’t get out of my mind. She’s beautiful, smart, and sweet. She’s giving, she’s passionate, and she’s a hard worker. She’s the whole damn package and more. Her name is Veronica Lodge._

_My problem is, I don’t know how to tell her how I feel about her. I never even planned to fall so hard for her, but I have, and now I don’t know what to do about it. I’m afraid she won’t want me, and the thought of that is pure torture to my gutless heart._

_If you publish this letter, maybe she’ll figure out that it’s me._

_In the meantime, any advice in case she doesn’t know who this is?_

_Sincerely,_

_Over the Moon_

When she finished reading the letter, she had no idea what to think. Her face felt hot with embarrassment at having read it out loud in front of Jughead. He would surely think it was ridiculous and tell her she’d been ridiculous for publishing it.

She covered her face with the letter. She wanted to crawl into a hole. This whole thing had to be some kind of joke.

“So…how are you going to respond?” Jughead asked.

She could hear the smile in his voice and she looked up at him, unable to hide the chagrin on her face.

“I’m not! This _can’t_ be for real. Someone is just messing with me.” She said as she covered her eyes with her hand.

But Jughead shook his head.

“No one knows that you’re Ms. Terious, Veronica. And why would someone write into an advice column, completely anonymous, just to play some weird joke? A joke that has no comedic content whatsoever.”

Veronica sighed as she gave him a smile, nodding in agreement. He made a great point.

“Well, even if this _is_ a legit letter, how am I going to respond? What if it’s better that I _don’t_ know who this person is?”

Jughead gave her a smirk.

“Why is _that_? Do you have an idea of who you _think_ it is?”

Veronica shrugged.

“Maybe…I don’t know. I just...I don’t want to make any assumptions about anything. Ugh, this has _got_ to be the most complicated letter I have ever gotten.”

Jughead chuckled, as if he was fully enjoying her torture.

“Well, what will you tell this mystery person? I’m curious.”

Veronica let out a confounded laugh as she slid off her bed, the letter still in her hand as she paced around her bedroom.

“I…I guess I would tell Over the Moon to just tell Veronica...or, um, _me_...how they feel. Even if they don’t know if _Veronica_ will feel the same way or give him…or her…a chance, it’s something I should maybe hear directly from them. Keeping a secret like that will only start to eat away at them. It's best that they just lay it all out on the line. Take a chance. I think...I think I will be understanding, and nice about it, and…flattered.”

She looked over at Jughead who was listening to her intently.

“I think...that sounds _really_ good. Great advice once again, Lodge.” He said as he got up from the bed and approached her.

Veronica could feel her heart slamming inside her chest as he got closer, until he was so close that she could smell the minty gum he’d been chewing after he’d finished his coffee.

Suddenly she couldn’t even breathe. She was afraid that if she did, he would vanish and the cold feeling would return.

Veronica sucked in a breath as Jughead’s eyes landed on one of her spaghetti straps that had slipped down her arm. And it felt as if her skin was being lit on fire when his fingers carefully placed the strap back on her shoulder.

Her mind couldn't help but wonder what it would have been like if he'd removed the strap all together instead.

His hand lingered as they looked at each other, saying nothing, but so close that it would only take a few inches for their lips to meet each other halfway.

She glanced at his mouth again, as her hand instinctively began to raise to touch his cheek, but then she heard the slam of her front door.

“Veronica! I’m home!” Hermione Lodge called out, breaking the spell that Veronica had been under.

“I better go.” Jughead sighed as he stepped back, letting out a long exhale before grabbing his bag and his laptop.

Veronica nodded, but deep down, she had wanted to stop him, to tell him to just stay. 

But she didn't have the nerve to, so she only felt the cold again.

 

To be continued...


	8. Chapter 8

Jughead sat at the bar of the Whyt Wyrm listening quietly as Fangs and Toni sat talking about nothing particular. He was barely listening, still wondering why Veronica had kissed Sweetpea a few nights earlier during the pool tournament.

She hadn’t really explained herself, hadn't even denied that she and Sweetpea were together.

Maybe they weren't together, but he didn’t think it could be Sweetpea who didn’t want something to happen between him and the woman who had collected both of their hearts. Jughead knew how Sweetpea felt about Veronica, or at least, he _thought_ he knew.

Then there was the letter she had received.

Veronica had seemed so mortified by it, actually believing it had been a cruel joke. How she could ever think that, Jughead didn’t understand. He knew of way too many guys at school that would kill to have a chance with her.

She had seemed to have a few thoughts about who might have written it, but she wouldn’t say who. Jughead wondered if she thought it might be Sweetpea, and what she would say to him about it.

The thought left a nauseated feeling in the pit of his stomach. All he wanted to know was if Veronica wanted Sweetpea or not. If she did, then he would begin the arduous task of finding a way to move on. But when he had moments with Veronica like he’d had with her on Saturday, it was nearly impossible to want to give that up. Not when there had been such a powerful and undeniable electricity between the two of them.

He had wanted to kiss her, he’d wanted to tell her how he felt, especially after the advice she was planning on giving to Over the Moon. She said that they needed to put it out there, to get if off their chest. Tell her the truth and see what could happen.

Jughead had decided to do that very thing.

But then they’d been interrupted by Veronica’s mom arriving home and the moment had been shattered.

“I haven’t seen you brood like this in a long time. What gives, Jones?” Toni asked as she looked over at her quiet friend.

Jughead shrugged.

“Just…have some things on my mind. By the way, do either of you know where Sweetpea is tonight?” He asked, changing the subject.

Fangs nodded.

“He had plans with the Princess, of course.”

Jughead sighed, deciding to go Pop’s to trade in his beer for some coffee and a burger. That was his answer. Veronica was with Sweetpea, and possibly having their first date as a couple. The thought wrecked him because now he wondered if he had misread everything between him and Veronica.

“I’ll see you guys later.” Jughead said as he put some money on the bar and got up to leave.

But before he could get very far, Betty suddenly appeared.

She was the last person he wanted to see at that moment, and he wondered why he hadn’t found a way to have her Serpent membership revoked.

“Hey Jug, can we talk?”

\---

 

Veronica stared out the window of Pop’s as the snow flurried around outside in large spirals, like the calmest of tornadoes.

“It’s coming down heavier now.” She said quietly as she went back to wiping the tables.

“Yeah, the storm is supposed to be pretty epic. Pop told us to close up and go home.” Jughead replied as he walked over to the door and turned off the “open” sign.

“It’s so weird for the diner to be closed. Pop hardly ever closes.” Veronica sighed.

It was true. She could only think of a couple other times that Pop had ever closed the diner doors, and the world seemed stranger when those neon lights were off. And if she had to be honest, there was a part of her that wasn’t ready for her shift with Jughead to end. Working with him at Pop’s was a perfect excuse to get to hang out with him. Because neither one of them had a choice in the matter.

Jughead chuckled.

“You’re not complaining, are you? I sure don’t want to be here when the storm hits. A cold burger is a gross burger.”

Veronica shook her head.

“No, I’m not complaining. It will be nice to catch up on some letters. I can’t believe how many we’ve been getting every week.”

The advice column was still a huge success, and Veronica was getting so many letters that she had begun to be selective about which ones she actually had time to answer. Jughead helped when he could, but she hadn’t seen him around much lately and she wondered why. She didn’t want distance between them, not when they had shared so much, and not when things might have taken a whole new direction if her mother hadn’t interrupted right before Jughead had been about to say, or do, something that she had been hoping for.

She thought about the letter from Over the Moon and how she had answered it but no one had come forward yet to say they were the person who’d written it.

Veronica had been almost positive that the letter was written by Sweetpea, but he hadn’t said a word about it, and she’d been too nervous to bring it up.

They hadn’t talked about the kiss between them either. Sweetpea hadn’t tried anything, didn’t even try to talk about what it could mean for the two of them. She wasn’t sure how to take that, especially when he still looked at her the way he always had, still touched her the way he always had. But the wall was still there, and she didn’t quite understand why.

Two boys and she didn’t really know how either one of them felt about her. It was maddening, because she didn’t really know how she felt about the two of them either. But there was still one thing that hadn’t happened that could give her a solid answer.

“And speaking of letters, how did Betty feel about the Over the Moon one? Was she pissed about you publishing it?” She asked curiously, knowing full well that Betty couldn’t possibly have enjoyed someone writing a love letter to Veronica through the Blue & Gold advice column.

Jughead chuckled.

“She was so mad that she came all the way to the Whyt Wyrm to tell me off.”

Veronica raised an eyebrow. She was intrigued.

“What did she say?”

Jughead leaned against the counter, smiling slyly.

“That she couldn’t believe how disloyal I was being. That I was a traitor. That now something, and that something being the Blue & Gold, that is hers has inadvertently become about you. Basically, she was being ridiculous, and I told her so.”

Veronica gulped nervously.

“What did you say to her?”

Jughead shrugged.

“Just that she needed to let go of her anger already. That if she doesn’t learn how to forgive and forget then she’s only going to grow increasingly more bitter in her life. And I told her that you deserve to be happy, and if publishing that letter can lead to that, then I’m sure as hell going to publish whatever I need to. Basically, I just tried to channel my inner Ms. Terious and give advice like you would.” He said with a knowing grin.

Veronica’s heart was pounding out of control. Three. Three times now Jughead had defended her to Betty. Three times that she knew about. He had no idea how much that meant to her, that as much as he cared about Betty, he had no problem telling her when she was wrong.

“Jughead…thank you…”

But before she could say anything else, the lights of the diner flickered. Jughead and Veronica both looked up simultaneously and a second later the electricity was out, leaving Pop’s in complete darkness. 

“Holy shit.” Jughead mumbled.

The two were silent, not moving, but waiting to see if the lights would come back on before figuring out what to do next.

Veronica knew then that she had to seize the opportunity while she had it. That being in complete darkness, unable to see Jughead at all, was just what she needed to get the nerve to take a huge leap towards something she had wanted but hadn't had the nerve to do.

Her heart was beating so hard it was as if her whole body was pulsing right along with it. She reached her hands out and found Jughead’s arm.

“It’s okay, Veronica. I can probably turn on the backup generator. I just need a cell phone to use as a light.” He said, mistaking her grabbing onto him as her being afraid.

Veronica didn’t respond as her other hand found his other arm. He was standing right in front of her as her hands traveled up to his shoulders. She stopped once she’d reached his face.

“Veronica…” He said so softly it was as if he was saying a prayer.

He didn’t say anything else, but she half expected him to jerk back when she cupped her hands along his jawline and used her thumb to find his bottom lip.

He sighed as if her touch was everything he never knew he needed. She didn’t take her thumb away from his lip right away, instead she used it as a guide until she could replace it with her lips.

And then she was kissing him, tentatively at first, testing him, unsure if he wanted this or not but praying to God that he did.

Then, slowly, the soft peppering of kisses turned into more. His mouth moved against hers hungrily, needy, as if her lips were essential to his survival.

Her mouth opened to him, and his tongue slid gently against hers, eliciting a frenzied whimper from Veronica as her hands clutched his face, her fingers playing with the ends of his hair that weren’t covered by his beanie.

Damn, he was unbelievable. She never would have known that Jughead Jones had a kiss so hot, so passionate, that it was almost criminal. She thanked God above for letting those lights go out, or she might’ve never known how good he would feel.

His hand found the small of her back while his other gripped her waist, as if he was keeping her in place, not allowing her the freedom to pull away until he was ready for her to.

The wave of butterflies in her stomach was ceaseless as his kiss deepened and she had no option but to wrap her arms around his neck, steadying herself while also pressing her body against his, dying to know what he would feel like. Jughead groaned into her mouth from how her body felt against his, and her heart skipped so hard that she wondered if it would just stop completely. Jughead’s moan was the most erotic thing she had ever heard and her mind immediately went to the wildest of thoughts involving him in her bed, with no more interruptions.

And almost as if she had unintentionally willed it to happen, their kiss ended abruptly when her cell phone rang just as a pair of headlights beamed into the pitch black diner.

Veronica pulled away, and felt that familiar coldness she always seemed to feel when she wasn't close to Jughead.

She pulled out her cell phone.

“It’s Sweetpea. He’s here to take us home before the storm gets worse.”

The light from the truck headlights allowed her to see Jughead just enough to see him shaking his head and smiling.

“Always on his white horse, huh?”

Veronica chuckled.

“Yes. He might be the knight, Jones, but you're the prince.”

\---

Jughead tried not to begrudge the fact that Sweetpea had come to get both him and Veronica so that Jughead wouldn’t have to try to navigate the snowy streets of Riverdale on his motorcycle and so Veronica’s mom wouldn’t have to be driving in the treacherous weather to pick up her daughter. Sweetpea’s dad had a powerful 4x4 and it had certainly come to the rescue.

“How long had the electricity been out for?” Sweetpea asked as he drove carefully while fat snowflakes attacked the windshield like tiny little minions before being brushed away by the windshield wipers.

“Ummm…I…I’m not sure…uh…fifteen minutes, maybe?” Veronica replied, her face getting flushed as she tried to answer Sweetpea’s question.

Just like Jughead, she had completely lost track of time while they had been lip-locked. 

“Sounds about right.” Jughead added casually.

“Looked really dark in there.” Sweetpea said with a suspicious tone as his jaw clenched.

Veronica nodded emphatically.

“It was. We couldn’t see anything so we just stayed put.”

Jughead nodded in agreement.

“Why didn’t you guys just use your cell phones to see? You could have turned on the backup generator instead of sitting in darkness for fifteen minutes.”

Veronica was silent, unable to come up with an excuse.

“What’s with the interrogation, P?” Jughead asked as he looked over at his friend.

Sweetpea shrugged.

“Just curious as to what you two were doing in the dark for fifteen minutes.”

Jughead shook his head.

“Nothing but talking, Sweetpea. Okay?”

Jughead looked at Veronica, who was looking down at her hands. He couldn’t tell if she was ashamed or upset or angry. He couldn’t read her, and he hated when he couldn’t read her.

No matter how she might feel about it, Jughead was lost in the snow-filled clouds. Because kissing Veronica had been extraordinary, and completely unexpected.

He had no clue why she had kissed him, but when she had been holding his face in her hands, he felt as though his heart would burst right through his chest. And then he felt that soft warmth when her lips had touched his.

He wondered if he was dreaming.

His first instinct had been to pull away, to stop her. Not just because of how it might make Sweetpea feel but because he wondered if it was really him that Veronica had wanted to kiss. The dark part of his mind wondered if she was just pretending he was someone else. Especially now, when she sat between him and Sweetpea in the truck looking as though she was regretful of what had just happened.

Regardless, those fifteen minutes had been the best of his life. Even if he never got to kiss her again.

And now his heart was totally hers, no matter what happened.

Sweetpea dropped Veronica off at the Pembrooke first, seeing as how they still had electricity.

“Call me if you need anything.” Sweetpea said as he gave her a quick hug.

Jughead jumped out of the truck to let Veronica out.

“Goodnight, Veronica. Stay warm.” Jughead said quietly as he gazed at her hotly.

Veronica gave him a small smirk, and it was everything he had needed. Maybe she didn’t regret the kiss after all.

“You too, Jughead.”

\---

 

“So, when are you going to tell her?”

Jughead rolled his eyes at Sweetpea’s question once they were alone in the truck.

“Tell her _what_?” He asked as he stared straight ahead at the icy road, scowling.

He didn’t want to get into a confrontation with his best friend over their dual feelings for the same girl.

“Tell her that you’re in love with her and have been for months.”

Jughead sighed.

“What makes you think I’m in love with her?”

Sweetpea chuckled.

“Because I know you, Jones. And I know you wrote that letter. You’re ‘Over the Moon’, aren’t you?”

Jughead shook his head.

“Even if I was, I wouldn’t tell you. And how I feel about Veronica is none of your business.”

Sweetpea scoffed.

“Like hell it isn’t. The only reason why I’ve held myself back from being with her is because of how _you_ feel about her. And the fact that I can tell that she feels the same way about you.”

Jughead stared at his friend.

“Are you _serious_ right now? You’ve held yourself back? I saw you two _kissing_ at the Wyrm.”

Sweetpea shook his head.

“She kissed _me_ , man. And she only did it to get your attention. She wants _you_. And you want _her_. But if you’re not going to go for it, then you’re a fucking moron. I thought about dealing with being second best to her, but I don’t want to be with a girl who is really in love with someone else.”

Jughead didn’t know what to think. He’d had no idea that Sweetpea knew how he felt. He thought he’d kept his heart locked up tight enough. 

But his curiosity got the best of him, even though he knew his next question would expose what Sweetpea already knew about him.

“How do you know she’s in love with me?” Jughead asked quietly.

Sweetpea sighed.

“Because I know _her_. And _you_ know her too, you’re just too afraid to see the truth.”

But Jughead didn’t know how to trust what Sweetpea said, even though he wanted desperately to believe that Veronica Lodge was in love with him too.

“Even if I believed you, P. What do I do about you, and Archie, and Betty? How many people get hurt if I let Veronica know how I feel and find out that she feels the same?”

Sweetpea shrugged.

“Well, Jones…that’s just a part of the fight to have her as yours, and for you both to be happy.”

 

To be continued…

 


	9. Chapter 9

Veronica sat in her bed with a cup of coffee, surrounded by letters addressed to Ms. Terious. It was her typical routine and she loved it, especially during a week day.

School had been cancelled so that Riverdale High could be used as a storm shelter for anyone without electricity, due to the weather. But Veronica had still gone by the school that morning, happy to see that Jughead had left a package of letters for her in the front office.

It was still snowing when she looked up and out her window, but not nearly as fiercely as it had been the night before, and the night before that. The night she’d kissed Jughead.

She couldn’t get it out of her mind. Constantly distracted when she flashed back to how his hands had felt when he’d been touching her, the tingling current that had gone through her body every time their lips touched, pulling away to take a breath before going back for more, over and over, until she was nothing but a breathless heartbeat.

But it had ended abruptly when Sweetpea had shown up. And he’d been so suspicious, which only piled on even more guilt that she’d already been feeling even before she had kissed Jughead. Guilt for feeling the way she felt about Jughead Jones without telling Sweetpea the truth about it.

She didn’t regret kissing Jughead. Not when it had been as incredible as it had been. She wanted more, hoping to God he would give her everything that she’d been fantasizing about, but she was too afraid to lay it all on the line. Too afraid Jughead wouldn’t feel the way she did.

And she didn’t regret kissing Sweetpea either, because she had realized something extremely important. That as much as she cared about the Serpent, she didn’t feel with him what she had felt when she’d kissed Jughead.

Sweetpea was a good friend, and she’d always cherish him. But she knew he wasn’t what she needed.

She sighed as he picked up a letter off the stack and unfolded it.

_Dear Ms. Terious,_

_Veronica Lodge kissed me, and it was the most remarkable experience of my life. I want to write poems about it, but unfortunately, I’m terrible at writing poetry._

_I don’t know what to do. I keep wondering why she kissed me, because there’s another guy in the picture and I don’t know how she feels about him versus how she feels about me._

_What do I do? Do I wait for her to come to me? Or do I take the initiative myself? I’m desperate for your help. This girl has taken a hold of my heart completely. I've been totally and utterly undone by her._

_Sincerely,_

_Over the Moon_

Veronica could feel her heart in her throat. There were only two people she had kissed recently.

She picked up her phone and sent a quick text. She had to find out what exactly was going on for once and for all.

\---

“You’re being quieter than usual.”

Jughead hadn’t even realized that he’d barely touched his Eggo waffles that his dad had made them both for breakfast, but he’d been lost in thought.

“I…just have a lot on my mind, dad, that’s all.”

FP studied his son as he took a bite of his breakfast.

“Wanna talk about it? Is it school? Betty?”

Jughead shook his head.

“No, dad…it’s…it’s nothing. Really.”

But FP Jones wasn’t letting up. He knew his oldest child far too well.

“Is it the gang? Work? Come on, son. You don’t have school today, I don’t have work. Riverdale is basically at a standstill because of the blizzard. Let’s use the time for some father and son bonding.” He said with a grin.

Jughead sighed, letting his fork clatter on his plate as he sat back in his chair.

“Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you, old man.” He said with a sarcastic chuckle.

FP squinted his eyes at his son.

“Wow, something _really_ has you rattled. It must be a girl.”

Jughead let out a long exhale.

“How could you _possibly_ know that?” He asked, feeling defeated by his father's instincts.

“Because I know how you get when you’re thinking about a girl. Extra broody, extra pensive, looking off into the distance at nothing in particular, barely eating, tossing and turning on the pullout couch. You’re just like me, Jug, and I always did those same things when I was in love.”

Jughead winced.

“Oh, I’m right aren’t I? But it’s not with Betty Cooper. Nope, not Betty. But I wonder who. Care to give up the name of this mystery beauty?” FP asked with a teasing smile tugging at his lips.

Jughead felt his heart slam inside his rib cage at just the thought of saying her name out loud. But there was no getting past his father, and the love life interrogation he was under.

Jughead took a deep breath.

“It’s Veronica Lodge, dad. And she kissed me the other night.”

FP’s eyes widened at Jughead’s admission, but he kept his cool.

“Well…that… _that_ was a little unexpected...

Jughead rested his forehead on the kitchen table, mortified by his father's initial reaction and feeling lost about what to do.

"Well, I can’t say I’m completely surprised, son. I knew it was just a matter of time before you two found your way to each other. To be honest with you, and as much as i fear saying it, I think you and Veronica Lodge would make a formidable pair.”

Jughead sat up as he let out a sigh of relief, grateful that FP wouldn’t be against the idea of his son dating the daughter of a man who had nearly ruined everything they’d work so hard for.

That was if dating her was even a possibility.

“So she kissed you? Does that mean that you two are now dating?”

Jughead shook his head no. He didn’t really know what the kiss had meant. He hadn’t talked to Veronica since it had happened, other than when he’d told her goodbye when Sweetpea had dropped her off at the Pembrooke.

“That’s the thing, dad. I haven’t talked to her about it. Up until she kissed me, I thought she might be dating Sweetpea.”

FP chuckled.

“She didn’t just kiss you for no reason, Juggy. You need to talk to her and be honest with her. You don’t have to tell her you’re in love with her if you’re not ready, but you should at least tell her that the kiss meant something to _you_.”

Jughead nodded. He had to come clean with her, no matter how she might feel. He knew what Ms. Terious would tell him to do. She would tell him to free himself of the burden of “what if” and just take a risk. And it was _that_ type of amazing advice that had contributed to the feelings he felt for Veronica. She was incredible, and he needed her to know how much he thought so.

\---

“I came as soon as I got your text. What’s going on?” Sweetpea asked, concern on his face as he unzipped his Serpent jacket and laid it on a nearby armchair.

“This.” She said as she thrust the letter from Over the Moon at him.

Sweetpea glanced over it, his eyes moving line by line with a smirk on his face.

“What? You think _I’m_ the one who’s been writing these? That I’m this ‘Over the Moon’ dude?”

Veronica folded her arms across her chest.

“Well, who else could it be? I mean, this makes total sense.”

But Sweetpea shook his head.

“It’s not me, Ron. It’s either a stupid joke or you’ve kissed someone else recently.”

He looked at Veronica as if he knew something she hadn’t yet confessed.

“ _Have_ you kissed anyone else?” He asked with a challenging smirk.

Veronica didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t sure how Sweetpea would feel if she told him the truth. She had thought before that he would be upset, but by the way he was acting, he didn’t seem as bothered as she’d thought he would be.

Sweetpea raised an eyebrow at her.

“You kissed Jughead, didn’t you?”

Veronica lowered her head and sighed. Her non-denial was as good as a yes.

“I knew it! I _knew_ you two were acting strange when I’d picked you up. Your face was all flushed and Jones looked annoyingly smug.” He replied, shaking his head as he handed the letter back to her.

“Are you mad?” She asked, fearful that she might be about to lose one the best friends she’d ever had.

Sweetpea cocked his head to the side.

“I mean, I don’t _love_ it. But, no, I’m not mad, V. I can’t be mad when I know how you feel about him. And when I know how he feels about _you_.”

Veronica felt as though her heart had stopped completely.

“Feels about _me_? So…Jughead…you think he’s…”

Sweetpea chuckled quietly.

“He’s your Over the Moon. He’s the only other guy you’ve kissed, right?”

Veronica nodded, overwhelmed by what she was hearing.

“Well, if it’s not me, then who else could it be but Jughead Jones?”

Veronica sat down with the letter in her lap, unable to hide her complete disbelief.

Sure, she had gotten the vibe that _maybe_ it was possible that Jughead was attracted to her and not just using her to get back at Betty, but she never would have guessed that he might have real feelings for her, much less write her a love letter through Ms. Terious.

And then things suddenly began to click into place. Jughead asking her to help him with the advice column, had it all been a ploy to tell her he liked her instead of just being honest with her, face to face? Had he even really thought she was a good advice giver? A good writer? Had he been laughing about how naive she was being? 

She felt foolish and gullible, but most of all, she felt as though she’d been totally played.

“What are you thinking, V?” Sweetpea asked nervously as he watched the look on her face go from one of shock to one of anger.

“Oh nothing" She replied with a syrupy sweet tone.

"Just that I’d like to stuff this letter down Jughead’s throat.” She said as she crumpled it up in her hand, scowling as she tossed the ball of paper across the room.

Sweetpea sighed.

“I understand why you’re mad, but he was trying to do something over-the-top to let you know how he feels. I told him once that only grand romantic gestures would get your attention. So he obviously took that to heart and ran with it.”

But Veronica shook her head, she didn’t want to listen to reason or excuses.

“Oh, he got my attention all right. And I have a gesture of my own to give him.”

Sweetpea sat down beside her.

“Please, Veronica, don’t do something that you might end up regretting. And don’t miss out on something that you _both_ have been wanting just because he wasn’t sure of the best way to tell you the truth.”

Veronica sighed.

“Why didn’t he just tell me like a normal person? He had so many opportunities. And why didn’t _you_ tell me if you’ve known all this time?” She asked, still irritated at this new piece of information.

Sweetpea chuckled.

“Because it wasn’t really my place to tell you. But the important question is, why haven’t you told _him_ how _you_ feel?”

Veronica shrugged.

“I guess I’ve been just as fearful as Jughead has been. At least he found a clever way to let me know. But…I’m not going to make this easy on him, Pea. Not yet.”

\---

 

Jughead watched as Veronica pushed a broom around Pop’s, humming to herself. She seemed to be in an unusually good mood, but he could only wonder why. She hadn’t said a word to him about the second letter from Over the Moon, and she hadn’t given him a reply to it for the newsletter.

On top of that, she hadn’t said anything about the kiss between them either. She’d never explained why she had kissed him, and why she had done it when the lights had gone out. He wondered if she had been just as afraid of him as he had been of her. That the cover of darkness had masked some of the vulnerability she felt towards him.

But then, maybe she just wanted to pretend he was someone else.

He didn’t know, he might not ever know, because she wasn’t saying anything and he didn’t have the guts to say anything either.

It was driving him crazy wondering if she was going to ask him about the letters. She had to have already eliminated Sweetpea as the author, obviously thinking it was him first. Surely Sweetpea would have told her it wasn't him who'd written them.

Maybe she thought it was Reggie, or Archie, but she hadn’t kissed either of them recently.

“You seem annoyingly happy.” Jughead finally said as he nervously fidgeted with his beanie.

Veronica looked up at him, her brown eyes sparkling. It took nothing for this girl to take his breath away.

His heart raced as she gazed at him and all he could think about was how her mouth had felt on his neck during the last time they had been in Pop’s together. How her soft pant had sounded in his ear. His whole body reacted to her, craving her, wanting her so badly that he could barely sleep at night.

“I _am_ happy! Not that it's any of your business but Sweetpea is picking me up after my shift and we’re going to hang out. My mom is out of town for a couple days visiting my aunt, so…it will be nice to have the place to ourselves.”

Jughead’s heart sank to the pit of his stomach.

Maybe she _did_ think Over the Moon was Sweetpea, and maybe Sweetpea let her believe it.

"Gross." Was all he said in response.

Veronica smirked.

"No, what's gross is all the gum stuck underneath table 5. Why don't you take care of that while I go freshen up?"

Jughead scowled at her. As crazy as he was over her, she still pissed him off unlike anybody else.

"Yeah, I'll put it in a to-go box for Sweetpea."

Veronica flicked him off before heading to the restroom, but when she returned, she was smiling and looking so heartbreakingly gorgeous that it took all of the self control Jughead had within him to not back her up against the wall and do all the things to her that he'd been thinking about doing to her for weeks. He wanted desperately to hear her moan again, he'd do almost anything for it.

He sighed as his heart pounded furiously, as it always did when he was near Veronica. And he cursed Sweetpea for contributing to how miserable he suddenly felt.

He didn’t know what else to do or say, so he said and did nothing. Instead, he gave her a nod goodbye as she left, and he went back to wiping down the front counter, doing his best to conjure up the courage he would need in order to tell her everything.

And it would have to happen a lot sooner than later. He wasn't done fighting.

 

To be continued…

 


	10. Chapter 10

“I think you’ve sufficiently tortured him enough, V.”

Veronica and Sweetpea sat in the lunchroom at Riverdale High while Veronica relayed to Sweetpea how she’d made Jughead think she’d had no idea that he was Over the Moon instead of Sweetpea.

“I’m not trying to torture him, I just want him to tell me _himself_. I want to know that he really means what he says. That he really does feel that way about me. I’m nervous too, P. I have no idea how for real he is. I still wonder in the back of my mind if he just wants Betty back.”

She hated being so confused, and scared, and hopelessly lovesick over someone, especially Jughead Jones. But there was no way around it, no matter how much she wished she could just feel normal again. Deep down, she knew that normal would cease to exist if Jughead was in her life.

Sweetpea shook his head.

“Trust me, Veronica, he means what he said in those letters. You don’t need any more proof than that.”

Veronica rested her head in her hands, frustrated by it all.

“I don’t know, P. He hasn’t been real quick to claim that he’s the one who wrote them, which doesn’t give me a whole lot of faith.”

She thought about that morning when she’d seen Jughead in the hallway, he’d walked past her, giving her a quick wave and that was it. Her heart clenched, wondering if she had ruined everything by carrying on about Sweetpea every time she’d seen Jughead in the past week.

Maybe she had gone too far, now regretting never telling him how good it had felt to have his lips against hers, to feel his hands on her body. She should have talked to him about the kiss. She shouldn’t have made him think it hadn’t mattered to her.

It did matter.

“Then why don’t _you_ just tell him how you feel. _You_ be the one to take the initiative to tell him the truth.”

Veronica nodded, knowing Sweetpea was right. She would have to be the one to bite the bullet, to lay her fears on the line. She needed to know if he wanted her for real, and she could know if she would just tell him where she stood. If he didn’t want her, and this had all been some game, she wouldn’t have to wonder anymore and she could try to get over it. It’s exactly what she had originally told Over the Moon, and she needed to follow her own advice for once.

Veronica sighed as she got up and began to gather her things.

“Where are you going?” Sweetpea asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

Veronica gave him a nervous smile.

“To go find Jughead.”

Sweetpea smiled reassuringly at her until something caught his eye. She followed his gaze.

“Looks like he came to find you.” Sweetpea said with a chuckle.

Veronica watched as Jughead stormed into the busy cafeteria and jumped up on a chair and onto a table right in the middle of the room.

“Listen up!” He shouted as he looked around, making sure he was getting their fellow classmates full attention.

Veronica and Sweetpea stared up at him, completely bemused.

“What is he _doing_?” Sweetpea mumbled.

Veronica shrugged, but for whatever reason, her heart was thundering hard in her chest. She’d never seen Jughead do anything to purposely bring attention to himself, ever.

The boisterous conversation that had been going on before Jughead had demanded everyone’s attention, quieted to a low murmur until the lunchroom was eerily silent, all of them waiting to see what it was that Jughead Jones had to say, but mostly wondering if the Serpent Prince had suddenly lost his mind.

“The latest Ms. Terious newsletter going around has a second letter from Over the Moon.”

Veronica noticed people whispering and nodding their heads, looking over at her. There had been rumors that Veronica had been the one sending the letters herself, that she was actually Over the Moon and just trying to get attention. There had been rumors that Over the Moon was a myriad of different people but no one had yet gotten it right.

“Ms. Terious told Over the Moon to tell Veronica how they feel about her. So...”

Veronica watched in utter shock as Jughead took a deep breath and looked over at her.

“Veronica Lodge…I am Over the Moon…and…I should have told you the truth from the beginning. I didn’t know how to…but I’m taking Ms. Terious’s advice and I’m telling you in front of everyone…because I want you to know that I _mean_ it. This is _real_.”

As much as Veronica wanted to look away from him, she couldn’t. And then he said the words she never thought she'd ever hear him say.

“I’m in love with you, Veronica.”

There was a collective gasp throughout the cafeteria as tears pricked at the corners of Veronica’s eyes. She still didn’t know if she could trust what he was saying, as much as she was dying to believe it.

Jughead kept his eyes locked on hers as he jumped off the table and headed towards her.

She stood up, grabbing his arm once he was close enough and yanked him out into the hallway as the whole cafeteria erupted in applause.

\---

 

Jughead’s hands shook as Veronica stood in front of him in the hallway, glaring at him.

“Is this some kind of sick joke, Jones?” She yelped, her eyes filled with tears.

Jughead looked at her, not at all understanding why she seemed so upset. And he had no idea why she would think his confession was a joke.

“ _What_? Why would I joke about something like that?” He asked her, suddenly panicked at the way she was looking at him.

Her reaction to what he’d just announced to half the school had thrown him for a loop. This wasn’t at all how he had expected telling Veronica he loved her would go.

“Because…Jughead, I can’t help but wonder why you asked me to be Ms. Terious in the first place. Was it just so you could do this big production in the cafeteria and get more readers? I feel like a fool! Like my writing didn’t even _matter_. And then I think…how do you _really_ feel about Betty? Was this all for her? To make her want you back? What kind of game are you playing?!”

Jughead put a hand to his chest, thinking it could somehow soothe the ache he felt as tears rolled down her cheeks.

“Veronica, I’m not playing any games! I did this because I _love_ you…and yes, I wanted to find a way to show you. I wanted to give you something for _you_ because you really are a wonderful writer and you’ve helped so many people with your advice.  This has _nothing_ to do with Betty. I feel nothing for her but friendship. _You’re_ the one I want. You’re _all_ I want. And like I said in there, I should have told you a long time ago.”

Veronica said nothing as she wiped a tear from her cheek, so Jughead continued…

“I _know_ I was an abysmal asshole towards you for a long time…too long. But that was a mistake, and I will regret it forever. What I’m asking from you now is to just take a gamble on me. And to tell me…tell me if you feel the same way about me that I feel about you. Please tell me if that kiss meant something to you too.”

He felt as if he could hardly breathe as he searched her face for some clue as to how she felt. And it seemed as if forever and longer had gone by before she finally lifted her eyes, still glistening from tears, and spoke.

“Yes.” She said quietly.

Jughead’s pulse raced.

“Yes, what?” He asked as he stepped closer to her.

He reached out and took her wrist in his hand, tugging on it just enough to see if she would fight him or give in.

And when she allowed herself to be enveloped into his arms, Jughead felt as if he would melt away to nothing right then and there.

Veronica looked up at him as Jughead let her go and slid his arms around her waist. She rested her hands gently on his chest, as if she was afraid to touch him anywhere else, still afraid of trusting all that he had just told her.

“Yes, the kiss meant something to me. _You_ mean something to me.”

She sighed before going on.

“Jughead…I’ve done the one thing I swore I would never do, but it was pointless trying to fight it. My heart was destined to love yours. And I do…I love you.”

Jughead let out a long sigh, hanging onto the moment that Veronica Lodge declared her love for him. It was the day he’d never seen coming, but had needed more than air itself.

When she rose onto her tiptoes, opening her mouth to him, his hands went to her face, holding her there and watching as her eyes closed. He didn’t want to miss a moment of seeing Veronica about to kiss him, but this time they were bathed in the light of the school hallway instead of a pitch dark diner.

The feathery light feeling of her lips as they closed around his was indescribable, he could get lost in this. In fact, he _was_ lost in this, to the point where he barely heard the bell ring, signaling that they still had classes to attend.

“Veronica! Oh my God! Tell us _everything_!” Came the voices of Ethel and Midge and a few other of Veronica’s old friends who had tried to forget she existed ever since school had started. They were now all about hearing every detail of her romance with the loner Serpent after witnessing his declaration of love during their lunch.

Veronica pulled away from him, her face flushed, her eyes sparkling, a demure smile on her beautiful face.

“We’ll finish this later.” Jughead said, his voice low with desire for this girl who had claimed his heart.

But there would be no finishing anything. This was just the beginning.

\---

 

“So Jughead, huh?”

Veronica looked up to see Archie Andrews standing next to the table she was sitting at in the school library. She quickly shut her laptop, not wanting Archie to see that she had been in the midst of editing her responses to the Ms. Terious letters.

She had forgotten that Archie had the same lunch period as she did, and had likely seen Jughead’s unexpected announcement.

“Uh…yeah…”

She didn’t know what else to say. Talking to your ex-boyfriend about how you’re now in love with his best friend isn’t a conversation you could ever easily prepare for.

“You feel the same way as he does?” Archie asked as he took a seat across from her.

He didn’t seem angry, or even that sad, just resigned. And in that, she found some relief. The last thing she wanted was to come in between two best friends.

“Yes. I…I love him.”

Archie nodded, his jaw clenching, but he stayed relatively calm as they spoke.

“I guess working at Pop’s together had something to do with it?”

Veronica shrugged.

“I don’t know. I think I felt something for him even before that. I don’t really know when it began. Maybe it’s always kind of…” Her voice trailed off as she remembered who she was talking to, and not wanting to hurt him.

“Been there?” Archie finished for her.

Veronica nodded.

“But it doesn’t mean I didn’t love you, Archie. I did. This thing with Jughead…it’s just different.”

Archie looked down at the table, but with a half grin on his face.

“It’s okay, Ronnie. I guess…I guess there is definitely something about you and Jughead that makes sense. Doesn’t meant I’m happy about it, but…I get it. And I won’t stand in the way of what you two have. I promise.”

Veronica smiled.

“Have you told Jughead that?” She asked, hoping he really did mean what he was saying.

Archie nodded.

“I did. Right before I came here. In fact, he was the one who told me where to find you. He _knows_ you, Ronnie. Much more than I did.”

Veronica stood up as Archie got up from his seat. She reached out to hug him and he held on longer than she had expected he would, as if this was finally the end of something that was never meant to be. It was the closure they both had needed. And Veronica would no longer feel a need to avoid the red-headed ex. She was free.

\---

 

“Do…you…think…we’re moving…a little too…fast?” Veronica panted between sultry kisses, her waitress dress bunched around her waist as Jughead kept one hand inside her panties and the other in her hair.

His mouth was clamped to her neck as her hands threaded themselves through his beanie-less hair. He had lost it somewhere in their throes of lust when they’d headed outside behind the diner on a quick break away from customers and co-workers.

“No…but if you want me to slow down…I’ll try…” Jughead murmured against her neck, slick from his kisses.

“Don’t…don’t slow down…because I don’t think we’re moving too fast either.” She said with a laugh that quickly turned into a moan as Jughead’s hand worked her aching core mercilessly.

The floodgates had opened and all bets were off as the two of them gave into what they had tried to deny for far too long.

“Thank God…” He sighed before moving his lips to hers in a searing kiss that made him so hard, he didn’t know if he’d make it through the rest of their shift without having to find a way to relieve the tension.

“Looks like you need some help.” Veronica whispered against his lips as her hand teased the bulge inside his crisp white, work pants.

Before he could object, she had disappeared from his grasp, suddenly on her knees as Jughead stretched out his arms and braced himself against the cement block wall that hid them from any prying eyes. He knew these weren’t the ideal conditions for he and Veronica to be so intimate, but they were both desperate. They'd waited too long for this.

“Holy fuck…” He sighed as Veronica’s mouth worked him slowly, deliberately, and with every intention of giving him exactly what he’d been hoping for.

She felt so good, and was so skillful at what she did that he knew it was meant to be that she was his and he was hers. They felt perfect together, even in the short amount of time since they'd confessed their love for each other. It didn't feel new, it just felt right.

“Wow, Juggykins…” He heard her say softly, letting him know she liked what he had.

It was exactly what a guy needed to hear when a girl saw him for the first time. He breathed a sigh of relief before groaning and shaking from his sudden release.

And just like that, Veronica was back in his arms, kissing him hotly, like she could never be sated no matter how long they stayed outside.

“We should go in…” Jughead said breathlessly as Veronica kissed his jawline, her body pressed against his.

“Okay…” She sighed, but she still didn’t pull away, and Jughead chuckled at how she had no intention of stopping yet.

He could hardly believe this was his life now. That the girl he had tried so hard to not think about, because he’d never thought he could actually have her, was looking at him with eyes full of love and longing.

There were still some roadblocks in their way, but he prayed that he and Veronica could get through them unscathed. The main issue would be Betty Cooper. And Jughead could only hope she would handle everything graciously, and for once, put her feud with the woman he loved to rest.

 

To be continued…

 

 


	11. Chapter 11

Veronica woke up smiling.

She’d been having the most amazing dream about Jughead. And when she heard her phone beeping, she leaned over quickly to grab it.

_Good morning. I can’t stop thinking about you. I need to see you asap. – Love Jug_

Her heart fluttered. It didn’t seem quite real that this was happening. Jughead was her boyfriend, and on top of that, he loved her.

The only problem now was telling Sweetpea what had happened. Not that he would be completely surprised, but she knew it would still be a reality he hadn’t yet had to deal with. And avoiding him like she’d been doing for the past couple of days wasn’t how she wanted to treat her friendship with the person who had been by her side all this time.

_Meet me by my locker after your history class. I love you. – Veronica_

She bit her bottom lip, still smiling as she threw off her covers and got out of bed. For the first time in a long time, she was actually excited to go to school.

But when she stepped out of the shower and into her bedroom, she saw her mother sitting on her bed with a grim look on her face.

“Mom? What’s up?” Veronica asked as she dried her hair with a towel, curious as to why her mom was in her room so early in the morning.

Hermione sighed as she looked up at her daughter.

“You know your father would not approve of you dating Jughead Jones.” She said as her fingers twirled around the fringe of Veronica's throw pillow.

Veronica scowled at the mention of her absent, criminal father.

“Yeah, well, I don’t really care. I love Jughead, and I’m happy. And daddy is nowhere to be found anyway.”

Hermione shook her head.

“He might come back, Veronica. And he will make life very difficult for you and Jughead when he does.”

Veronica couldn’t help but laugh. All this time had gone by and her mother was still holding out hope for Hiram’s return. She knew her mother loved him, for reasons unknown to Veronica, but she couldn’t understand why she would want him back home after all the pain he had caused people in their small town.

“I’m not trying to be disrespectful, mom, but daddy  _isn’t_ coming back. Not only did he abandon us but he hasn’t even tried to contact us. I don’t care about what he wants or _doesn’t_ want. I’m going to live my life the way I want to.”

Veronica couldn’t help but feel an ache in her heart when she saw tears begin to roll down her mother’s cheeks. But she had to be honest with her, even if the truth hurt.

“I’m sorry, mija…I really am. It’s just…seeing you so happy makes me nervous. I remember how it feels when you first fall in love. I just worry about you, because I know your father would feel so betrayed that it could create a great of danger for Jughead. And...I know how much you love him, and I’m sorry to upset you. I just…I feel as though our lives are just in limbo. I keep wondering…if everything I’m doing is the right thing.”

Veronica sat down by her mother, her towel still wrapped around her as she took her hand and squeezed it comfortingly.

“Mom, I know it hasn’t been easy. Especially on you. Taking care of us, I can’t imagine how worried you’ve been. But you’re doing a wonderful job. We don’t need daddy in order for us to be a team. We’re surviving just fine, just you and me.”

Hermione smiled through her tears as she placed a hand on Veronica’s cheek.

“You’re wise beyond your years, Ronnie. I’m lucky to have you as my daughter.”

Veronica wrapped her arms around her mother, as if she was the mom and Hermione was the child. But she knew her mother needed it after how strong she’d tried to be. She rarely showed any cracks in her stoic façade, and Veronica hadn’t acknowledged it enough how much her mother had done to keep them afloat.

“I have an idea, why don’t you invite Jughead over for dinner one night? I’d love to have a chance to talk to him and clear the air between the two of us now that you are dating.”

Veronica nodded excitedly.

“Oh, mom! That would be amazing. Thank you!” She said as her heart filled with gratitude for her mother's acceptance of her relationship with the Serpent Prince.

Hermione smiled as she wiped the rest of the tears from her face, as if she was cleaning the slate that was her new normal in life.

\---

 

“I heard your news...you know, about you and Veronica.”

Jughead sighed when Betty walked into the Blue and Gold office and took a seat across from the desk he was sitting at while working on his latest article. He was trying to finish up so he could meet Veronica for work at Pop's with a new stack of letters for Ms. Terious. He had been hoping to avoid running into Betty, but he knew he would have to face her sooner rather than later.

“Yeah, I uh…was going to talk to you about that.”

Betty gave him a look as if she didn’t believe him.

“So...was _that_ the whole reason why you wanted to do this advice column? So you could find a way to tell Veronica how you feel? Seems like a pretty harebrained idea, Jug. How did you take yourself seriously when you were giving yourself advice? I mean, I didn’t take you for being so…fearful. And of a girl, no less. Especially after all you’ve been through.”

The bite in her words was obvious, but Jughead did his best to remain calm and collected. There was no sense in letting Betty piss him off, not when he was happier than he had ever been.

“Look, Betty. I know the way I went about things was…unusual…but it had good intentions behind it. I don’t want to get into this with you. I’m sorry I used the paper as a way to get out my feelings for Veronica, but you have to admit, the column has been an incredible success, regardless of the reasons behind its origin.”

Betty narrowed her eyes at him, clearly not appeased by anything he had just said.

“You know she’s only going to end up hurting you. That’s what Lodge’s do. You are being made a fool of, just like I was, for trusting her in the first place. I care about you, Jughead, so it’s important you realize that you are making a _huge_ mistake.”

Jughead shut his laptop and slid it inside his bag before getting up and grabbing the stack of advice letters.

“Betty, you need to get over your distrust and animosity when it comes to Veronica. You haven’t spoken to her in so long that you don’t even know who she is anymore. You have her all wrong, and so did I. But after she helped me and the Serpents, I saw the side of her that I hadn’t allowed myself to see before. There’s a reason why she was your best friend, and that reason is because she’s an incredible person. And deep down, you know it.”

He watched Betty’s face, but the scowl she’d been wearing ever since she’d entered the room didn’t fade.

Jughead sighed.

“See you later, Betts.”

She said nothing as he left, and he could only hope that she would think about what he’d just said. Hanging on to bitterness was no way to live, and he understood that in a way he never had until recently. And it was all because of Veronica's love.

\---

 

Veronica knew that it probably wasn’t very professional for her to be making out with Jughead in the middle of their dinner shift at Pop’s on a Friday night, but neither one seemed to care who might be watching or waiting for them to hurry up and refill their drinks while the new couple were pressed between the coffee makers and microwaves, Jughead’s hands cupping her face as she draped her arms over his shoulders.

It was still strange but electrifying when she would pull away briefly from their kiss to see his mouth curl into that satisfied grin that he got whenever he knew she had stopped so that she could catch her breath. Because this was Jughead Jones, of all people, that made her weak in her knees and her heart pound incessantly.

And she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“When is Sweetpea coming by?” He murmured as his lips brushed hers.

Veronica sighed.

“Soon.”

But suddenly, they heard the familiar voice of Sweetpea himself, who’d been standing there watching without them even realizing it.

“I’m already here.”

Jughead and Veronica quickly pulled away, straightening themselves after having been caught by the one person who was a best friend to them both, and who they feared hurting the most.

“Hey…sorry…” Veronica said sheepishly as she looked down at the floor while tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear, dislodged from having Jughead’s hands in it.

“Don’t stop on _my_ account.” Sweetpea replied with a teasing smirk as he took a seat at the counter.

Jughead quickly handed him his favorite drink, a root beer float.

“On the house.” Jughead said as Sweetpea’s hand went behind him to grab his wallet.

“Thank you, Jones.” Sweetpea replied with a nod before taking sip.

Jughead and Veronica watched him closely, both trying to figure out what Sweetpea might be thinking, how he might be feeling about what he’d just witnessed. And he obviously enjoyed torturing his two friends because he took his time sipping on his beverage and scrolling through his phone before finally looking up at them.

“What? You guys don’t have to be all weird about this. It’s fine. I knew it was just a matter of time and I’ve been mentally preparing myself for months.”

Veronica sighed.

“That still doesn’t make me feel any better.” She said as she leaned on the counter with her chin in her hand.

“Don’t pout, V. I know you feel guilty, but I don’t want you to. Yes, I care about you. I care about you more than I should have let myself. But…how could I _not_? You’re an amazing girl. And I’m just glad that Bonehead Jones finally saw the light. You two were destined for each other from the beginning. You just needed a little shove in each other’s direction in order to see if for yourselves. And…honestly…I was glad to be the one to help make that happen.”

Jughead chuckled.

“P, you’re a true saint. Don’t you want to just punch me at least _once_? One real good right hook to my nose or something?”

Sweetpea grinned.

“I would _love_ to. And I just might someday, but _only_ if you ever hurt our girl. She deserves the best of everything, Jones. She deserves the best guy. And I know that person is you. But if you fuck it up, you might as well plan on two black eyes delivered by me.”

Jughead smiled warmly at his fellow Serpent.

“Fair enough.”

Veronica still felt as if her heart was being sliced wide open, especially when Sweetpea was being so considerate and so kind. He really had been the one to push her and Jughead together, and she couldn’t be more grateful for what he’d done, and how selfless he had been.

There had been a time when she had wondered if Sweetpea had been the one for her, but something between them had never felt completely right. She realized that maybe they were just meant to be amazing friends and nothing more. She could live with that, and it seemed as if Sweetpea could too.

\---

 

Letters seeking the advice of Ms. Terious fluttered to the floor of Veronica’s bedroom as she and Jughead forgot they were supposed to be working on them together and not tearing at each other’s clothes. But they were alone, Hermione having stepped out to do some Christmas shopping, and the new couple hadn’t had a chance like this yet.

They planned on making the most of it.

“How much time do we have?” Jughead panted as he helped Veronica pull off his S shirt and toss it to the floor along with the letters.

Veronica smiled seductively.

“If I tell you, it takes away part of the fun.” Her voice thick with desire for him.

Jughead’s pulse ticked rapidly when Veronica ran her hands down his bare chest, his stomach, until she was tugging at the button on his jeans.

He licked his lips nervously as she looked at him as if she was more than ready for him to ravage her for however long they had until her mother got home.

She unbuttoned her dress slowly as Jughead stared at her, completely entranced, still not quite believing this was real. It felt like at any moment Veronica would tell him to get lost. But when she smiled at him, her cheeks flushed along with her half-lidded gaze, he knew she had no intention of letting him go anywhere.

He was lost in time as she lay underneath him, her body naked and writhing, wanting him. He quickly shucked off his jeans before settling himself between her legs.

“Are you sure?” He asked tentatively, hoping to God she wouldn’t say no.

But Veronica gave him that sexy smirk that always made him crazy.

“Make love to me, Jones.”

Jughead felt his muscles liquify at her words. Countless times he had imagined this moment, what it would be like, how he would feel, how _she_ would feel. It was better than anything he had ever experienced in his whole life as he pushed himself into her in one, hard thrust.

“Oh _fuck_ …” He sighed as every nerve was suddenly lit on fire, sparking electricity through every flowing vein within his body at the feel of Veronica’s slick core sheathing him to the hilt.

He buried his head in her neck as Veronica panted in his ear.

“Yes…oh…Jug…yes…yes… _yes_ …”

Groans of passion escaped his lips as he moved in and out, over and over, the feeling intensifying until he wanted to explode. But he couldn’t yet, not until he had her screaming. Too many nights he’d spent dreaming of the day she would be yelling out his name from the hot, intense pleasure he would give her.

“Damn, Jughead…oh _God_ …” Veronica moaned as she curled her hands into fists in his hair.

Jughead smiled to himself as he lowered his mouth to her perfect breasts, heaving from how hard she was breathing, begging to have his mouth on them. He took each pink tip between his lips, pulling, sucking languidly, one at a time, causing Veronica to buck her hips in desperation to feel him go deeper as she reached an orgasm that caused beads of sweat to form on her forehead. She was the most beautiful, exquisite thing he’d ever seen in the entirety of his life.

“ _Oh_! Fuck!” She yelped as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling herself up to him while pushing him into her deeper, her body grinding into his so hard that he collapsed onto his back and clutched her bottom so she could ride him until he was coming with her.

“God, I love you.” He gasped as she sat on top of him, running her hands through her hair before leaning down to kiss him long and deep, her tongue making itself at home in his mouth.

But she pulled away just long enough to tell him one thing before kissing him again.

“I love you too.”

 

To be continued…

 

 


	12. Chapter 12

Veronica was in sublime bliss as she climbed off of Jughead’s motorcycle and removed the custom helmet that he had gotten just for her, purple with a princess crown on the front. It matched his own black helmet with the Serpent Prince crown and there was no doubt that she felt like royalty when she was with him.

“Thank you for the ride.” She said softly as she took him by the collar of his jacket and kissed him gently on his cupid bow lips.

“Thank you for holding on so tight. It felt _really_ good.” He replied flirtatiously as he twirled a piece of her hair, gazing at her devotedly.

Veronica smiled coyly. Only Jughead could elicit a blush from her cheeks.

“Can we hang out later? Somewhere _alone_?” She asked him between quick, soft kisses.

Jughead breathed out a sigh, as if just the thought was enough to make him lose air.

“My dad won’t be home until later tonight. Come over after school.”

Veronica’s heart fluttered. She’d been desperate for Jughead ever since their first time together over the weekend. Being with him had been the best sex she’d ever had, and she wanted him again, and as often as possible.

“I can’t wait.” She said as she bit her bottom lip and pressed her body against his.

He made her crazy, and it still didn’t feel real that she could show him just how madly in love she was with him. No more hiding, no more pretending. She was laying herself completely bare to him, which was something she never thought she’d ever be able to do with anyone. But with Jughead, it was suddenly so easy.

“Well, don’t you two look awfully happy.”

The new couple looked up to see Archie walking by, a teasing smile on his face that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

Jughead nodded, smiling back at his childhood friend.

“Hey, Arch.”

Archie gave Veronica a somber glance, but quickly let it pass before he smiled that familiar smile that let her know that everything would be okay.

“Ugh, that hurts.” Jughead said with a sigh after Archie had passed.

Veronica nodded.

“I feel bad, I really do, but…I can’t stay away from you, Jug. No matter _who_ it might hurt.” She replied.

Jughead sighed.

“Do you have any idea how incredible it is to hear you say something like that to me? I never thought this day would come, Lodge.”

Veronica’s heart thumped hard in her chest.

“Me either. Just don’t break my heart, Jones.”

Jughead shook his head as he cupped her cheek in his hand.

“Never.”

\---

 

The two walked into the school together, arms intertwined, their fellow classmates staring. But Jughead had never been more proud to be walking the halls with Veronica. She was everything to him. He was still struggling to get used to the idea that she was actually into him, that she was in love with him.

Everything seemed perfect for the first time in a long time.

But then, out of nowhere, Ethel Muggs was quickly approaching him and Veronica as they walked towards Jughead’s history class.

She stopped abruptly in front of them, causing the couple to stop too.

“Veronica! So _you’ve_ been the one behind the advice column? What made you think you had any business giving advice to anyone else?” She asked as she glared at Veronica with daggers in her eyes.

Jughead felt his heart drop. He quickly looked over at a shocked Veronica.

“W-what?” She asked, clearly caught off guard.

Ethel thrust a copy of the latest edition of the Blue & Gold at the two of them.

“It’s here in _bold_! That _you_ are Ms. Terious, giving advice _without_ the knowledge of the editor-in-chief.”

Jughead could feel his face getting hot. Betty. She had somehow found out that he wasn’t actually the one writing the column. And now she was outing Veronica in the school paper. Payback for how Veronica had hurt her ex-best friend.

Veronica looked at him, panic covering her face.

He squeezed her hand reassuringly before turning to Ethel.

“There’s no proof, Ethel, so don’t believe everything you read. I thought you were smarter than that.”

Ethel scowled, but said nothing more before stomping off back down the hallway.

“Jughead…Betty knows?” She asked, tears forming in her eyes.

It was rare to see Veronica so upset, and he felt as though he’d been punched in the heart at how hard she was trying not to cry.

“I…I guess she does…but I didn’t tell her.” He said as he pulled Veronica into an empty classroom.

“Baby, _please_ don’t worry. I _will_ find out how Betty knows about the column. In the meantime, keep your head high. You’ve helped _so_ many people. You did _nothing_ wrong. I love you.” He held her face in his hands as he kissed her tenderly and slowly, hoping it provided her some sort of comfort.

When he pulled away, she was calm as she gave him a weak smile.

“I love you too.”

\---

 

Jughead stormed into the Blue & Gold office, full of rage as his hands balled into fists.

Betty looked up at him calmly, as if she had been expecting him. She crossed her arms as she leaned back in her chair.

Jughead slammed his fists on her desk.

“What the _fuck_ , Betty?” He seethed through clenched teeth.

He wasn’t sure he’d ever been this angry before. In fact, he was sure he hadn’t been. Anyone messing with Veronica was one thing he would _not_ tolerate, no matter who it was.

“Good morning, Juggy. Read the news today?” She asked with mocking grin.

Jughead stared at her, not completely able to believe how ruthless Betty was acting. It was almost as if he didn’t even know her.

“You _know_ I did. I don’t understand how you could be so cruel. How did you know it wasn’t me writing the column?”

Betty smirked.

“Well, I’m glad to see you’re not trying to deny it.” She said as she stood up and placed her hands on her desk, mirroring Jughead in order to show him she wasn’t the least bit intimidated.

“But it was simple, really. I got suspicious when I saw you take the stack of letters with you the other day. I followed you to Pop’s and watched as you handed the letters to Veronica.”

She looked so smug and pleased with herself that it was all Jughead could do to keep his temper in check.

“I should have known you were only using this whole advice column thing as a way to get close to Veronica. So how long have you been pining for her? Were we still dating at the time? Because if we were, you can kiss your position here at the Blue & Gold goodbye.”

Jughead rolled his eyes as he pushed himself away from Betty’s desk.

“I wouldn’t work for this paper any longer if you paid me.” He said as he went over to his own desk and grabbed the few things he’d kept in the office.

He started for the door, but before he left, he turned around one last time.

“You know, Veronica and her Ms. Terious column _saved_ this pathetic excuse for a school paper, Betty. But of course you only allow yourself to see the negative in everything. I don’t know why you continue to hold onto this anger you have, but I really hope you find some peace someday. For your own sake.”

And with that he left to go find his girl, and to tell her that they would fix this mess, no matter what it took.

\---

 

“So much for going to Riverdale University for college next year. I wouldn’t do _anything_ Veronica Lodge has told me to do now that I know she was the one behind Ms. Terious.”

Veronica was in line for lunch when she heard the girl in front of her talking about her college plans. Veronica didn’t know who the girl was, but she _did_ remember the letter. It had been from an “Unsure with University.” The writer of the letter had been struggling about where to go to college, whether they should stay local or go to a school out of state. The writer had been dealing with some family problems and wasn’t sure if they should use the opportunity to escape the drama, or stay close and help her family get through it all.

Veronica had suggested the latter. But now, this particular advice seeker was regretting having listened to what Veronica had told her, and all because she was a Lodge.

“It’s like I have ‘I’m a Lodge, don’t trust any of us’ written on my forehead or something.” Veronica whispered to Sweetpea as she reached for an orange.

Sweetpea chuckled.

“Don’t stress it, V. It will all blow over and a new scandal will replace it before the day is over. Typical high school, ya know.”

Veronica smiled as she shook her head.

“I don’t know. I mean, people seem to live to crucify me and my family. Not that I blame them. I should have never let Jughead convince me to be anonymous.”

Sweetpea gave her a discerning look.

“Veronica, if you hadn’t been, then you might not have had the opportunity to help as many people as you did. Jughead did the right thing. The problem is everyone else. It shouldn’t matter who the advice was from, just that it made sense and was _good_.”

Veronica nodded. She couldn’t argue with that. Regardless of how people felt about her, she had tried her best to help them. She only wished it hadn’t all blown up around her.

Helping her classmates had been surprisingly therapeutic for herself too. And it had brought her an abundance of happiness. And not just from being able to share her thoughts in regards to other people’s problems, but the fact that she had fallen so deeply in love with a guy who was everything she had ever wanted.

And that guy was quickly approaching her and Sweetpea as they made their way to a table.

“Hey. How are you?” Jughead asked her nervously.

It was obvious that he was afraid she might be mad him for what had happened that morning with the Blue & Gold. But she could never be mad at him. It wasn’t his fault that she had been outed.

“I’m fine. Really. How are _you_ doing? Did you talk to Betty?”

Jughead nodded as the three friends sat down.

“I’m mad as _hell_ , but I’ll be okay. My friendship with Betty, and my work at the Blue & Gold, are both over. Betty found out about the column after she saw me take the letters from the office. She proceeded to follow me to Pop’s where she spied on us. She saw me give the letters to you. Her revenge was to out you in the school paper and destroy the column in the process.”

He sighed as he rubbed his face with his hands, his elbows on the table.

“I’m so sorry, baby.” He muttered somberly.

“I cannot apologize enough for all of this. I should have been more careful.”

Veronica’s heart ached knowing that Betty Cooper still hated her so much. She never would have thought Betty would treat her this way, and Jughead too. It wasn’t like her. But then again, everyone had seemed to change a lot over the past six months.

“You can’t blame yourself for this, Jones. But look at the bright side, you two don’t have to worry about keeping it a secret anymore.” Sweetpea said, trying to cheer up the disappointed couple.

“Oh, but that’s all Lodge’s know how to do. Keep secrets and tell lies and try to manipulate people. Right, Veronica?”

Veronica looked up to see Josie McCoy scowling at her. Just another person who had barely spoken to her in months.

“Just when people were starting to let their disgust with you turn into forgetting all about you, you go and do something else dishonest by pretending to be an advice columnist. We should have known it was _you_ behind it all.”

The words cut deep, no matter how many times Veronica had heard similar ones so many times before. But this was coming from Josie, of all people, someone who had once been one of her closest friends.

“Take a hike, McCoy.” Sweetpea growled as Jughead stood up, ready to tell her off.

“Jughead, let it _go_.” Veronica demanded as she watched Josie walk away, laughing along with Melanie and Valerie at how they had just put Veronica in her place yet again.

“I can’t. This has to end.” He seethed as he put his foot on his chair, ready to climb up onto the table just as he had done when he’d confessed to everyone that he was in love with Veronica.

Veronica stood up quickly.

“Then _I’ll_ end it.” She said forcefully, causing Jughead and Sweetpea to stare at her in disbelief.

She climbed onto the table instead, doing so carefully in her heels and skirt. It wasn’t graceful by any means, but once she was on her personal, cafeteria stage, all eyes were on her and a hush had fallen over the room.

“I know I look as ridiculous as I feel.” She started as she looked out amongst her classmates.

“But I don’t care.”

She looked down at Jughead, who was smiling up at her proudly. It was exactly what she had needed to keep going.

“I know how most of you feel about me, and I understand why. My father did unspeakable things to this town. Our home. And in the beginning, I went along with it.” She said before taking a deep breath and continuing.

“But when I realized what he was doing, I refused to help him. Instead, I chose to help Riverdale. I know some of you feel as though it was too little, too late. And I know that many of you will never forgive me, no matter how sorry I am…for everything.”

She paused for a moment as she caught Archie’s eye. He gave her a thumbs up, a little encouragement to keep her going, and she had never been more thankful for Archie’s friendship as she was in that moment.

“What I’ve done in the past has nothing to do with having been Ms. Terious. Jughead Jones asked me for help writing an advice column, and I _wanted_ to help. So I did. And I loved getting all of your letters. I loved helping all of you with your problems and heartaches, your pain and your confusion. It gave me the opportunity to learn things about myself too.”

Veronica sighed as she noticed faces that had been full of anger turning into looks of compassion and guilt.

“And just because my advice column will no longer be in the Blue & Gold, doesn’t mean I am done giving advice. Keep sending me your letters. Stick them in my locker. I’ll find a way to answer you…if you still want my advice.”

She got down from the table with Sweetpea and Jughead’s help before leaving the cafeteria in a rush.

“Veronica! Where are going?” Jughead asked as he followed her out into the hallway.

Veronica turned to look at her sweet and concerned boyfriend, silently thanking the heavens that she had him in her corner through all of this.

“I didn’t know if I’d get tomatoes thrown at me or something, you know? I just…that was…”

Jughead smiled as he pulled her into his arms.

“Kind of exhilarating?” He asked as he tipped up her chin to him.

Veronica smirked.

“You _would_ know how that feels, wouldn’t you? We do well in cafeterias, apparently.” She said before slinking her arms around his neck.

“I’m proud of you, baby.” He said softly as his lips brushed against hers.

“You were really brave up there…and beautiful, and perfect.” He murmured before pressing his lips to hers in a steamy kiss.

Veronica’s heart fluttered as it always did when Jughead was with her, and ever since they had admitted their love for each other, she hadn’t felt that cold feeling she used to get whenever he wasn’t near her.

“Can I still come over after school?” She asked between kisses.

Jughead nodded.

“And bring all those letters you’re going to get with you.”

Veronica chuckled nervously.

“That’s if I even _get_ any.”

But Jughead shook his head.

“You will. I _know_ you will.”

\---

Jughead stood by Veronica’s locker with her after the last bell had rung and the halls of Riverdale High had cleared out. His pulse raced as he and Veronica stared at her locker door.

“Well…” She said as she took a deep breath.

“Here goes nothing.”

He watched as she put in the combination on the lock and popped it open.

“Just open it like you’re ripping off a Band-Aid.” He told her as he put on hand on her shoulder for moral support.

Veronica took a deep breath and quickly opened the locker.

She looked up at Jughead with an ear to ear grin as a flood of folded papers and envelopes fell to her feet.

“They wrote to me.” She said with a sigh.

“Or maybe this is all hate mail?”

Jughead gave her an unamused look as he bent down to help her stuff the mail into his messenger bag. But his heart was filled with relief and pride for what his girlfriend had done. She had stood up for herself for the first time since everything had happened with her father, and the confidence it had given her had made him see a side of Veronica that she had kept hidden away for too long. Her moxie was coming back, and he was grateful for it. Not for _his_ benefit, but for hers.

“If they are, we’ll burn them all. But I think you and I _both_ know that people _still_ want your advice and what you said today was exactly what they needed to hear.”

Veronica nodded, still smiling, and he hoped she knew just how amazing she really was. If she didn’t, he would make sure to show her himself.

“Now let’s get out of here.” He said as he took her hand in his and headed out to his waiting motorcycle.

He needed to get her alone, and as soon as possible.

\---

“So many people apologizing to me for things they did and said behind my back _and_ to my face.” Veronica said as she looked over letter after letter.

She hadn’t expected all of the letters from people wanting to make amends, but it was a comfort to know that the anger towards her was subsiding. Being the punching bag for her father’s crimes and deceit seemed to no longer be her lot in life.

“There are a few good advice letters to start with, though. But how am I going to answer these when I don’t know who wrote them? They’re still anonymous.”

Jughead gave her a knowing smile as he took her hands in his.

“Well, I have something to tell you about that.” He said mischievously.

Veronica was confused and she hoped he hadn’t worked out some kind of deal with Betty. Veronica’s ex-best friend was not someone she was comfortable making any kinds of deals with.

“I know what you are thinking, and no, it has nothing to do with the Blue & Gold. But I spoke with Weatherbee today during study hall and he agreed to let us circulate a weekly newsletter of your responses to the letters you get. Seems your advice has actually helped student morale and cut down on discipline and guidance’s problems in the main office. School administration has been loving what you’ve been doing for the student body and they want you to keep continuing to help. Weatherbee said it himself that the peer advice has been a godsend for our school.”

Veronica couldn’t believe what she was hearing. It was surreal. And she had Jughead to thank for all of it. She couldn’t help the happy tears from running down her cheeks.

“Jughead…I…I can’t believe this. I can’t believe _you_. You believed in me from the beginning, when no one else did. You gave me a chance to resolve everything that’s happened. You gave me a new purpose. You gave me _love_. I don’t know how I could ever thank you for all of this.”

Jughead shook his head.

“You can thank _me_ by thanking _yourself_. You believed in you and you gave yourself a chance too. You wanted to do something good, and you did. I’ve never been more proud, or more in love with you. And…I’d do anything for you Veronica… _anything_ to show you how much you mean to me.”

Veronica sighed, unable to believe how lucky she had gotten after all the pain she’d gone through. Her father may be gone, but she had gotten something so much better in his place. The love from Jughead Jones, a _real_ man.

“And I want to show you how much you mean to _me_ , Jug.” She said, her voice low with lust as she stood up from the couch.

Jughead’s eyes stayed glued to her as she removed her clothes slowly, making a show out of it before climbing on top of him as he sat on the shag carpeted floor of his trailer.

“Wow…” He sighed as she took his face in her hands and gazed at him hotly.

“I’ll do anything you want, handsome. _Anything_.” She said, her voice dripping with sex before she captured his mouth with her own, helping him to remove his clothes without breaking their liplock.

“So..what do you want, Jones?” She asked him as her lips moved to his neck, where she peppered him with kisses in between light nips of the sensitive skin.

Jughead groaned as she slid her body onto his hard length, lowering herself slowly. She gasped at the way he filled her. He felt blindingly good and she couldn’t stop from biting her lower lip from how amazing he felt as she made love to him. He was so unbelievable that she felt sorry for all the other women in the world who weren’t Veronica Lodge.

“I want to make love in every place in and out of this trailer. The kitchen, the bedroom, the shower, on my motorcycle, and maybe even on the hood of the truck too.” He rasped with a low chuckle.

“I want you _everywhere_ , Veronica. And I want you forever.”

Veronica smiled as she rocked her body on top of his. Her heart pounded. He had just said everything she had wanted to hear.

“And you can have me, Jughead. _Forever_.”

 

The end.

 


End file.
